The Tournament
by Dragonwing5
Summary: Peace has finally settled over the planet Earth, and the Z warriors have settled into a decidedly less dangerous lifestyle. But what happens when a once in a lifetime invitation arrives from another planet? Will Earth's greatest warriors accept this invitation? And what adventures await them if they do?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**Holy crap, I'm back! I know it's been years since I've posted anything, and I realize that I have a few unfinished stories floating around here, but the idea for this story just wouldn't leave me alone. FYI, so far this story seems to bounce around a bit between POVs, but hopefully I've done so in a way that isn't very confusing. Also, I know that some events, reactions, etc. will be a little out of character occasionally, but at the same time I will try very hard to keep the original characters true to themselves. So, here I am, sending this story out into world. Hope you enjoy it!

**Disclaimer:**I do not own DBZ, the characters, or terminology. I do however take proud ownership of my original characters, etc. So please do not use them without my permission. Thanks!

**Chapter 1 - Visiting Guardians**

Dende, the Namekian Guardian of Earth, stood at the edge of the Lookout gazing down at the planet below. He had been watching over this planet for some time now, with the ever faithful Mr. Popo to keep him company. Things had been rather peaceful since the defeat of Buu a few years before. It seemed that the Z fighters, their families and friends were finally getting a chance to rest. He looked up as Mr. Popo suddenly appeared by his side. The genie looked very perplexed about something.

"Is everything alright, Mr. Popo?" Dende asked.

"I believe so," Mr. Popo answered slowly. "But I think Mr. Dende should listen to the message as well."

"What message?" The Guardian looked around in confusion. Mr. Popo put his hand on Dende's shoulder, and suddenly Dende could hear a woman's voice inside of his head!

_'This message is for the Guardian of Earth,'_ The voice said in a very amiable tone. _'My name is Porgia, and I am a Guardian as well. I am one of the three Guardians of the planet Terra.'_

"THREE Guardians?" The young Nemak's eyes bulged.

"Please, Mr. Dende, listen." Popo pressed a finger to his lips.

The message continued, _'I am a telepath, and I have sent this message through your aid because he had more of an open psychic link. I apologize for any inconvenience, but I wanted to let you know that, three days from now one of my fellow Guardians will be stopping on your planet via space ship. We request permission for her to land at your dwelling to deliver a message. This message concerns your planet's most powerful warriors, so it might be helpful if you attempt to assemble some of them in time to receive the message. We thank you for your time, and look forward to the cordial reception of our visiting Guardian to your planet.' _With that, the message ended and the genie took his hand off of Dende's shoulder.

"Oh, my goodness." Dende murmured. "That was…unexpected."

"What should we do?" Mr. Popo asked.

"Well, I suppose we should contact Piccolo, Goku, and the others. Hopefully most of them will be able to come here in three days when the Guardian's ship arrives." The Guardian said. _'So much for earth's warriors having a rest.'_ He thought as Mr. Popo nodded and hurried off to begin contacting Earth's strongest warriors. _'I wonder what kind of message this visiting Guardian could possibly have for them?'_

Piccolo was seated in his usual meditation spot, the sound of the waterfall providing a perfect focal point as he slowed his breath down. This was something he sorely needed after the amount of training he'd been doing lately with Earth's resident Saiyans and the two younger demi-Saiyans. He had a strange feeling that they were getting bored in some small way. It had been at least two years now since there had been any real threat to the Earth, and while Piccolo was thoroughly enjoying the break he had an inkling that the Saiyans needed a little chaos in their lives in order to function properly.

He had finally reached a satisfactory level of meditation, all of the background noise of the forest fading away. It was at that moment that Piccolo felt a pulse of ki appear directly to his right. He cracked an eye open, received a startlingly close-up view of Mr. Popo's face, and promptly fell out of his meditative stance onto the ground.

"_Popo!_" The Namek growled at the genie, standing up and brushing off his gi. "What in the _hell_ are you doing?"

Mr. Popo regarded Piccolo calmly. "Mr. Dende requires your presence, as well as the presence of Earth's other powerful fighters."

"Why?" Piccolo scowled down at him and crossed his arms.

"We have received a message at the Lookout that a Guardian from another planet will be arriving on Earth in three days, and she wishes to give a message to Earth's strongest warriors." The genie looked up at him expectantly.

"That's ALL the message said?" Piccolo asked.

"Yes." Mr. Popo responded. "I was hoping you would help me to contact Mr. Goku, Mr. Vegeta, and the other fighters between now and then."

Piccolo suddenly felt a headache coming on, the peace he'd managed to attain during his meditation completely evaporated. "Fine." He growled. "I'll help you talk to the others. So we need to be at the Lookout three days from now?"  
"That is correct." Mr. Popo nodded. His magic carpet swiftly appeared out of the forest, he climbed onto it and bid Piccolo farewell.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Piccolo wondered aloud after the genie had departed. He took off into the air, heading towards Goku's house first. "This had better be important." The Namek growled, using a blast of ki to propel himself through the sky.

The appointed day of the visiting Guardian's arrival found many of Earth's warriors standing on the tiled courtyard of the Lookout. Piccolo had arrived the day before after going to see the last of the Z fighters that he could find. Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta arrived together, after _finally_ convincing Goten and Trunks to stay at Capsule Corp. with Bulma. Master Roshi's air car pulled up shortly after, the old martial arts master having agreed to give Krillin and Yamcha a ride from his island. Dende was pacing nervously back and forth across the courtyard, unsure of what to expect from this meeting with another planet's Guardian.

At first, no one was sure exactly what _time_ during that day the ship would be arriving, but they were saved from waiting for too long. Just before noon, Dende finally began to feel the presence of the ship entering Earth's atmosphere. He informed the Z fighters of the ship's approach, and they all began keeping a look out for the ki signals of whoever might be on that craft.

The space ship slowly came into view as it made its descent to earth, the Z fighters that were present and their friends watched warily. It was not a large ship, only big enough for one or two people perhaps, and it bore no markings that any of them could recognize. As the ship gently touched down in the courtyard of the Lookout, a small door at the nose of the vessel slid open with a hiss. They all waiting expectantly for whoever was piloting the craft to emerge, but the creature that stepped out onto the tiled Lookout floor was definitely _not_ what any of them had been expecting.

None of the Z fighters made a move as the visiting Guardian carefully climbed out of her ship. She looked young, perhaps only in her early to mid-twenties, with piercing green eyes and a head-full of flaming red curls that brushed against the creamy skin on her neck and shoulders. While she was not very tall, being about the same height as Vegeta, it was evident from the well defined muscles in her arms and shoulders that she was also a warrior. Surprisingly, she was dressed very casually in a black tank top that hugged her small waist, and jeans that settled around an ample set of hips.

After a brief pause following her exit from the ship Dende finally remembered his manners, after being gently prodded by Mr. Popo, and stepped forward.

"Fellow Guardian," the small Namek said somewhat nervously. "Welcome to Earth. I trust you had a safe journey here?"

The young woman clasped the hand Dende offered and smiled down at him, revealing pearly white teeth with slightly sharpened canines. "Hello. Yes the trip went just fine, thank you. My name is Flare," Flare's voice was strong and smooth with a slight, unfamiliar accent. "And you are Dende, yes? Thank you for allowing me to stop here."

Dende nodded vigorously, still unsure of what to do next. He was thankful when Goku stepped forward with his usual good natured greeting.

"Hi there!" Goku extended a hand to her and was surprised to feel how very warm her skin was when she accepted it. "My name is Goku, we're certainly glad to have you here." He grinned. "Dende said that you have some kind of…message for us?"

"It's more of an invitation actually." Flare nodded to the small group watching her. "I have come to extend an invitation to Earth's strongest fighters."

"An invitation for what?" Piccolo rumbled, skeptical of what a foreign Guardian could possibly be offering them.

"Why, to a _tournament_, of course." Flare grinned at the range of startled reactions she received. "The planet I help tend is organizing a revolutionary tournament, the first of its kind. It will be an _intergalactic_ competition between some of the best fighters in the universe." She reached into a satchel none of them had noticed her carrying and pulled out a large, silver envelope which she handed to Goku. "Only a few select planets have been chosen to receive invitations, as this is the first year this tournament will be taking place. If all goes well this year, then the following competitions will include many more fighters from around the universe."

"Hn," Vegeta crossed his arms, eyeing the envelope warily. "And what exactly are the fates of those fighters who either _win _or _lose_ in this tournament?"

Flare studied the Saiyan prince a moment before answering. "You ask that as if this were some threat being made in the disguise of an invitation. None of you are required to accept, although we had hoped that the planet whose warriors had defeated so many notorious enemies would be eager to accept such an opportunity." She smiled when Vegeta glared at her. "There are _no_ consequences for those who lose their matches, if you lose you are simply out of the tournament. The winner will receive the honor of being named the most powerful fighter in the universe, and the only stipulation that comes with that title is that he, or she, is required to return to the next tournament to defend their place." She smirked, "Of course, there's no shame in being too _afraid_ to enter…"

"_No one_ said _anything_ about being afraid!" Vegeta snapped. "You—!"

"Hey, hey!" Goku cut in quickly, laughing and scratching the scar on his head. "No need to get angry Vegeta, she was just joking with you." He turned back to Flare with bright, determined eyes. "It sounds like a great idea to me! Just think, you guys! This is a chance to compete against all of the best fighters from other planets!"

"Yeah!" Gohan agreed. "Sounds like a great opportunity. What do you think, Piccolo?" He asked, turning to his former teacher and mentor.

"Sounds interesting," The green warrior smirked. "It could be fun."

Flare nodded, her curls flowing in the breeze blowing across the Lookout. "And you are welcome to bring close friends and family members to watch the competition if you would like."

"Even better!" Goku grinned. "So when does it begin?"

"Well, that envelope I gave you has all of the details." Flare answered. "But the official start date of the tournament is one month from today."

"Wait, how long does it take to get to your planet?" Gohan asked suddenly. "And _how_ will we get there?"

Flare grinned again. "Don't worry, it only takes a couple of days by space ship, and we'll be sending one to pick up whoever wants to join the tournament, plus any family or friends who want to accompany you." She nodded towards the envelope. "As I said, all of the instructions are in there, but I should tell you that we'll actually be arriving to pick you up about one week before the start date."  
"Why is that?" Piccolo asked, taking the envelope from Goku and looking it over.

"So you will have time to acclimate to the planet's environment and settle into where you'll be staying." The red-headed Guardian explained. "Besides that, the other Guardians and the committee in charge of the tournament have arranged several events prior to the start of the competition." She laughed when Goku's stomach rumbled out of nowhere. "Which will also include plenty of chances to eat, and get to know the other fighters."

Goku laughed and rubbed his complaining stomach. "This just keeps sounding better and better!"

"Oh," Flare looked at each of the Saiyans in turn. "I should also tell you that you won't have to worry about being affected by Terra's moons."

"_Moons_?" Vegeta asked, his tail curling around his waist. "Meaning, you have more than one?"

"That's right," She nodded. "But there is no danger of any of you transforming, we looked into this already. The path that our moons follow actually allows them to reflect the light waves that trigger your Oozaru forms _away_ from the planet, not towards it."

"You've certainly done your homework, haven't you?" Yamcha chuckled.

Flare turned to him, her hands on her hips. "Yes, well, when we made the decision to invite some of the most _powerful_ fighters in the entire universe to our home, we thought it best to research each of their races and make sure none of them would be…affected by any of Terra's features."

"Well, it sounds like you've got everything worked out just fine!" Master Roshi had taken the opportunity to sidle up to Flare's side, openly eying her backside. Krillin made a half-hearted attempt to pull him back, but the old man could be rather quick when a pretty girl was involved. "I'm sure Earth's fighters will do very well in your tournament. Now, I'm sure you're very tired from your journey, perhaps you'd like to come back to my house and…" He began reaching out a hand towards her.

The redheaded Guardian didn't even look back at the lecherous hand hovering dangerously close to her ass. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, old man." She said calmly.

Master Roshi obviously either didn't hear her, or chose to ignore her. Krillin sighed, waiting for the inevitable scream from the young woman. Instead, he looked up in shock at the sound of Master Roshi yelling in pain. The old man was hopping around the Lookout, waving a hand that looked like he had scalded it in hot water. All of the Z fighters looked back and forth in confusion between the howling Roshi and the calm Guardian.

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at them. "Well, I _told_ him not to do it."

"What exactly did you do?" Goku asked, confused.

Smirking, Flare held out one hand and snapped her fingers. A tiny ball of fire appeared at the ends of her fingers, she twirled the ball around a few times before closing her fist around it, putting it out. "I'm a fire bender, of sorts." Flare explained. "I can't help it if my body temperature shoots up when I'm…irritated."  
Nearly everyone gathered at the Lookout burst out laughing, except for Piccolo who merely chuckled in his stoic fashion. And except for Vegeta, because he was too busy wondering why that small gesture had seemed so unbelievably _familiar_.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Arriving on Terra

The trip from Earth to the planet Terra seemed much shorter than it really was. While it did take close to 48 hours to go from one planet to the other, the Z warriors and their guests were so amped up about the approaching competition that the time went by in a blur. After much deliberation between all of the warriors and their families, it was finally decided that Goku, Gohan, Goten, Piccolo, Vegeta, Trunks, Bulma,and Yamcha would make the journey to Terra to represent Earth in the intergalactic tournament. A Terran ship arrived just as Flare had said it would, seven days before the official start date of the competition. However they were surprised when it arrived completely empty, having made the journey to Earth on autopilot, a digital message left by Flare on the ship's consol gave instructions for activating the autopilot settings that would take the group to Terra. Bulma was particularly excited about working with a new technology, and appointed herself navigator for the trip.

The ship's consol began beeping loudly, indicating that they would be entering Terra's atmosphere shortly. Planet Terra's terrain was actually very similar to Earth's, and as they came into the upper levels of the atmosphere they could see large expanses of green fields and rolling mountains with cities and buildings scattered in between. Everyone took their seats and strapped in for the descent, which was a little bumpier than some of them would have liked but the ship finally landed on the ground with a gentle **thud**. As the entry door to the vessel hissed open, Vegeta and Goku were the first to stick their heads out and look around. It had been agreed that would be the safest thing to do upon arrival, just in case their group was being mislead in some way. However all they saw when they walked out of the ship were rolling fields of green grass dotted with trees, and a gravel road leading from where their ship had landed up a hill towards a large yellow house. The Saiyans announced that all seemed ok outside of the ship, and the Earth visitors were all exiting when Flare suddenly appeared on the road ahead, walking towards them. She grinned and waved, calling out to them as she made her way to the ship.

"So, you made it!" The Guardian exclaimed excitedly. "I'm so glad. We were hoping everything would run smoothly since we were unable to send a pilot with the ship to pick you up."

"Oh, no worries there." Bulma said, extending her hand to the young woman. "I was able to operate everything pretty easily. Hi, I'm Bulma!"

"Hello," Flare smiled. "Well you made excellent time getting here, and yours was the last group we were expecting for the tournament so that means everyone was able to make it."

"This is so cool!" Goten laughed, poking his small head out of the door to the ship. "Wow…_hey_!" He yelped as Trunks tackled him from behind, sending them flying in a heap of limbs and tails to land at Flare's feet.

"I see _you_ two are ready for the tournament!" Flare laughed, helping each of them stand up.

"Whoa!" Trunks said, grabbing the hand that had held his arm on the way up and inspecting it. "Your skin is really, _really_ warm! How do you do that?"

"Brats! Enough!" Vegeta growled, flicking Trunks' tail with the tip of his own. "Show some manners boy, you are representing your home planet!"

Flare smirked and knelt down to Trunks and Goten's level, where they were both now staring very solemnly at their feet. "I'll tell you why my skin is as warm as it is," She mock-whispered. "But you'll have to promise to keep it a secret, alright?" Both of the demi-Saiyans nodded eagerly and promised they wouldn't tell anyone. "Alright," Flare looked around conspiratorially. "The reason my skin feels that way is because, a very long time ago, my parents gave me a ball of fire to look after for them. And do you know where I keep it?" The boys shook their heads, mesmerized. She pointed to her chest, "I put it in here, for safe keeping. So now my body is _always_ warm."

Trunks looked a little doubtful. "But how can you keep a ball of _fire_ in your chest and not die?"

"Yeah," Goten agreed, looking concerned. "Doesn't it hurt?"

"Well, at first it did." Flare stood back up. "But now I'm strong enough that it doesn't anymore. I always feel it though. I always know it's there. Can you boys keep that secret for me?"

"Yes!" The demis nodded excitedly.

"Good." The redhead turned back to the adults, who of course had heard the entire conversation, and smiled. "Is everyone ready to head towards the house? Since you are the last group to arrive, you'll actually be staying with Porgia, Avery and I. I hope that's alright."

"Oh, yes! That's fine!" Bulma said as the group started making their way up the road. "I must say you have a beautiful house."

The yellow house was very large, indeed. It was three stories tall with a porch that wrapped all the way around it on the ground floor, and small balconies sticking out of many of the bedroom windows. As they made their way up and around to the front door, they saw that there on the porch in a rocking chair sat a rather unique looking young man. He was sitting cross-legged in the rocker, head tilted back and eyes closed. It was impossible to tell his age because his skin looked as if it was made of bright porcelain. Soft white bangs brushed against his face and fell on either side of a small black horn that curved up out of his forehead. He opened his eyes as the group approached, showing pitch black pupils surrounded by dark grey irises, and smiled gently at them, his pink lips were the only pop of color in his snowy face. Unfolding his long, lean body from the chair he bowed slightly and spoke in a whispery voice. "Greetings to you, Earth visitors. Welcome to Terra."

"Are…" Bulma's breath caught in her throat. "Are you another Guardian?"

The young man's laugh washed over them like ringing wind chimes, making those with sensitive hearing like Piccolo, wince slightly at the sound. "Oh no, I am not a Guardian, merely a friend."

"This is Zero, everyone." Flare chuckled, stepping up onto the porch with him. "He is one of Terra's residents, and he's helping us prepare things here for the tournament."

"What…er…what planet were you from originally?" Gohan asked.

Zero smiled softly again. "I do not know, actually." He noticed Gohan's embarrassment and calmly waved a hand, as if wiping it away. "Do not be ashamed of your question, it is alright. I have no memory of where I was born. I simply woke up one day as a young child to find myself here. Porgia found me and took care of me until I was grown."

"It explains why you always seem to be here," Another woman's voice laughed from the front door. The Guardian Porgia came out onto the porch and put an arm around Zero's slim shoulders. "You would think he doesn't have a home of his own now right down the road." She smiled at their visitors. "Welcome, everyone!" Porgia's shortly cropped hair and her eyes were the same shade of dark purple, her skin the color of caramel. She was a little taller than Flare, around Bulma's height, and also built like someone who had spent much of their life training. Although her features were softer than Flare's, Porgia gave off an equally powerful aura. Porgia's many layers of skirts whispered as she waved them all into the house. "Please, come inside!" She led the way in. Zero stepped out of the way and returned to his rocking chair, he seemed to already be asleep again before they'd all made it inside.

"Just put your things there by the stairs for now," Porgia was saying as she moved through the house. "We'll figure out where everyone is sleeping momentarily. Now," The purple haired Guardian turned as the group reached the house's massive kitchen. "Flare? Do we know where Avery is?"

"She should be out back with Zeus, I think." Flare answered from inside of the refrigerator. She popped her head out, a large red apple in hand. "By the way, if anyone is hungry just help yourselves to anything in here."

"Hey, great!" Goku started forward only to be grabbed by Gohan.

"Uh, Dad? Don't you think we should meet the last Guardian first before you go digging in their fridge?" Gohan asked.

"Oh, yeah…" Goku laughed and scratched his scar. "Good point, son!"

"Hmph." Vegeta scoffed. "Always thinking with your stomach, eh Kakarrot?"

Goku blushed as Porgia laughed, "It's quite alright! Let's step outside quickly so you can meet Avery, and then you can feel free to eat anything you like."

"If you knew how much food Goku can put away, I don't know if you'd be saying that." Piccolo chuckled as the group followed Porgia and Flare out the back kitchen door.

The view from the back of the house was equally as beautiful as the view from the front. So far, it seemed like the Guardians' house was pretty isolated, nestled into the bowl of a valley surrounded by nothing but fields sprinkled with sparse forest life, with snow capped mountains looming off in the distance. A small path led off of the porch down to a large, 10 ft by 12 ft pool surrounded by a wooden platform. Porgia explained that the water in the pool was heated and had healing properties, and they were all welcome to use it during their stay with the Guardians. Also located about half a mile behind the yellow house was a large square of white tiles set into the earth, a practice sparring ring. Flitting back and forth in the air above the ring was a fighter who could only have been the third Guardian, Avery. The Z fighters were impressed at how quickly Avery was moving through the air, none of them could even get a good look at her, all they saw were flashes of green ki as she worked through the sky.

Porgia must have contacted the other Guardian telepathically, because suddenly she stopped mid-air and turned towards the group. Flare waved her over and she slowly began to descend back to the ground. After reaching the tiled floor of the practice ring, Avery turned over her shoulder and let out an ear-splitting whistle. Bounding out of the woods behind her came a massive black and white bull dog. The animal caught up with her and slowed to a trot as they walked towards the group. It wasn't until Avery got closer that any of the visitors realized just how _tall_ she was, the woman could easily stand eye-to-eye with Goku. Her angular face was framed by long, chestnut hair, most of which was pulled back into a low ponytail at the base of her neck. Avery had bronze colored eyes and an olive skin tone that almost seemed to have a green shimmer to it when she turned directly into the sun. Despite the warm weather, she was dressed in long brown pants and a long sleeved green tunic that nearly covered her hands. Even through the layers of clothing, however, here and there toned muscles strained against the fabric. She smiled as she greeted the visitors, showing razor sharp canines that were much more noticeable than Flare's.

"You know," Flare teased the taller woman. "You're not supposed to be training right now, Miss Avery. Week of rest and relaxation, remember?" She ducked and made a surprised sound when Avery went to ruffle her red curls.

"True," Avery's agreed, her voice sounded like it belonged to someone much older than she appeared to be. "But it doesn't count if all of the contestants weren't here yet, and now they are." She scratched the waiting bull dog's huge head. "This is Zeus, by the way. He's very friendly. Say hello, Zeus." The dog barked happily and lunged forward to begin sniffing the nearest visitors, which happened to be Goten and Trunks. The boys laughed and soon had the dog rolled onto his back to receive a vigorous belly rub.

"Thank you so much for inviting us for this tournament." Goku said, clasping her hand. "It seems like you three are doing some great things for this planet."

"You're very welcome," The brunette Guardian replied. "We were pleased that everyone we'd invited was able to come."

"So what's _your_ special power?" Trunks suddenly asked from where he and Goten had lulled the dog into a very comfortable state, Goten nodded his agreement with the question. Vegeta put his face into his hand, trying to remember that stupid "count to ten" technique Bulma had been trying to get him to use instead of immediately yelling at their son. It wasn't working. Thankfully, Bulma spoke up before he had to.

"Trunks!" Bulma hissed. "You can't just ask people things like that!"  
"Why not, Mom?" Trunks stood up and took a very Vegeta-like stance with his arms crossed. "Miss Flare is a fire lady, and Miss Porgia can move stuff with her mind. So what can Miss Avery do?"

"Wait, Trunks!" Goten suddenly stood up to, looking worried. "Maybe she doesn't _have_ a special power!"

Before any of the adults could stop the boys, they ran over to Avery and looked up at her. "We're sorry for asking about your power, especially if you don't have one." Trunks apologized.

"Yeah, we hope we didn't hurt your feelings." Goten added. "If it makes you feel any better, you are definitely the _tallest_ lady we've ever seen!"

Avery glanced up at the visitors, and was easily able to tell which were the parents of the boys by the horrified, or embarrassed, looks on their faces. She smiled and nodded reassuringly to the adults before turning to Trunks and Goten. "Well I appreciate the apology, but I too also have a special ability. Would you like to see it?"

The boys nodded eagerly, they were being trusted with so much information today! Avery backed up about five feet and beckoned them over to her. Standing between them, she knelt down and placed one hand on the earth. A faint, green shimmer of ki travelled from her hand into the ground, and when she removed her hand a small green vine tendril began pushing up out of the dirt. The boys watched with wide eyes and open mouths as the tendril quickly grew and changed into a small tree trunk. The trunk gave way to branches, which quickly bore leaves, then flowers, then very tiny orange fruits no bigger than ping pong balls.

"Go ahead," Avery said. "Try them."

The astonished demi-Saiyans each took a small fruit and popped them into their mouths. Goten's eyes widened even further, "They're delicious!" He exclaimed, his tail waving wildly behind him.

"Yeah!" Trunks agreed. "What are they?"  
"They don't have a name, they are special fruits." Avery said as she put her hands on either side of the tiny tree. Another moment of concentration and the tree began to shrink, regressing back until it was a small tendril again before finally disappearing into the ground.

"Aww," Trunks pouted. "Why did you make it go away?"

"Because that is the way of Nature," Avery said solemnly. "Everything that comes out of the earth must eventually return to it, whether or not we are ready for it to leave." She stood and chuckled as the boys began patting their hands over the ground the tree had come from. "You also never know when it will come back either," Avery assured them. "That's what makes it interesting." The boys nodded up at her and retreated to their parents.

"Alright," Flare grinned. "I think those two have had enough life lessons for one day. Why don't we show everyone where you'll be staying?" Porgia and Flare took them back inside to show them the rest of the house and to assign everyone a bedroom. Piccolo looked back to see the tall Guardian sit down in the grass where she had grown the tree. Her dog sat patiently beside her as she placed her hands together and bowed slightly towards the earth. The green tendril that had sprouted before poked itself back out and grew up until it could wrap itself around her neck and peak through her hair. Avery smiled and looked up, feeling that someone was still outside with her, but as she peered through the open kitchen door she found that she was alone.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – The Family

After all of the visitors were assigned bedrooms and got their things unpacked, things settled down pretty quickly. Since the warriors present couldn't train for another four days or so, due to the tournament rules, many of them decided to learn more about the planet they were visiting. Trunks and Goten followed Avery around like little Saiyan puppies, pelting her with questions about her powers, why she was so tall, who they would get to fight against, and a myriad of other topics. Piccolo, after learning that the white haired young man was actually _meditating_ and not sleeping, joined Zero on the front porch and soon found himself lulled into a reflective state.

Yamcha, Gohan and Vegeta agreed to help Flare count out how many of the tiles in the Guardians' practice ring needed to be replaced before training resumed prior to the tournament. And Bulma, Goku, and Porgia reconvened to the kitchen where Porgia began cooking various dishes while Bulma chatted and Goku taste-tested.

"I still can't believe we're here!" Bulma was saying as Porgia placed yet another plate in front of the munching Saiyan. "From what you and the other Guardians have said, it certainly seems like Terra is a very…eclectic planet, isn't it?"

"Definitely," Porgia nodded, stirring the contents of a large pot on the stove. "My ancestors were actually the original inhabitants of Terra, but by the time my parents were first married there were so few of us left that they decided to _tactfully_ open the planet to newcomers."

"Open the planet?" Bulma asked. "What do you mean?"  
"Well, back then there were still enough telepaths on Terra to keep the planet sort of…_hidden_ from outside invaders. It took a lot of work, but they thought it was best. After a while though, when there were so few of them left, they realized they could do some good by opening Terra up to other people who had to leave their own planets. They started taking in all kinds of people, people whose planets had been destroyed or were escaping from tyranny, or simply wanted a change. As long as they agreed to abide by Terra's laws then they were welcome to stay."

"Wow…" Bulma sighed. "That's such a noble idea."

Porgia chuckled, "I suppose so. That doesn't mean that Terra doesn't have its bad apples mixed in with the bunch, but no planet is perfect."

"You can say that again." Flare scoffed as she bounded in through the back door. "Porgia, have you seen the key to the storage building where the extra tiles are stored?" The redhead reached a hand into one of Porgia's pots and pulled out a morsel to nibble on.

"It should be in the little cupboard by the front door." The telepath sighed, shaking her head and swatting the smaller woman with a wooden spoon.

"Thanks!" Flare winked and started out of the room.

"Oh, by the way Flare," Porgia said nonchalantly. "I spoke to your mother this morning. They'll be arriving soon for the tournament and she says she and your father can't wait to see you."

The redhead stopped dead in her tracks and turned around slowly. "What…What do you _mean_ you spoke to my_ mother_?!" Flare squeaked. "Don't you realize what that means?!"

"Of course I do," Porgia grinned. "And it's about time you saw all of them again anyway."

"Time she saw all of who?" Bulma asked, looking back and forth between the two women.

"Her family." Porgia patted the still shell-shocked Guardian's shoulder. "Two of her brothers are entering the competition anyway, so I thought, why not have all of them come over before it starts?"

"Crap…" Flare sighed. "You're right, Porgia. Guess I'll go start getting things ready for their arrival. When did they say they'd be here?"

"Around 5:00 this evening I believe, as long as they get everyone together in time." Porgia looked at her watch. "So you've got a few hours."

Flare sighed again and walked out of the kitchen, mumbling to herself about relatives who always show up without any notice.

"Is she ok?" Bulma asked, looking thoroughly confused. "I'd think she'd be happy to see her family, wouldn't she?"

"Oh, she will be once they get here." Porgia laughed. "She just hates it when she has little notice of when they're going to arrive. It takes a while for her to prepare for them."

"Why is that?" Asked Goku, who had literally been eating during the whole conversation.

The telepath smiled, "Let's just say that Flare has a very…_large_ family. You'll see." She winked and left the kitchen to go help Flare. Bulma and Goku looked at each other and shrugged, trusting they'd understand what Porgia meant once Flare's family arrived.

Later that evening, as the Guardians and their guests were preparing a huge meal outside, some of the Z fighters were standing in the field next to the women's house discussing the upcoming tournament with Zero.

"So what's your opinion on this whole mandatory 'no training' period right before such a huge competition?" Goku asked the white haired young man. Vegeta, Yamcha, and Piccolo all nodded, agreeing with Goku's question.

"Well," Zero responded, his pale skin practically shining in the light of the setting sun. "It's meant to be an example in appreciating all aspects of one's life, not just the aspect of competition. That's why there is this one week of time set aside, so the competitors can enjoy their friends and family before resuming training three days before the start of the tournament."

"Hn," Vegeta scoffed and crossed his arms. "That sounds ridiculous to me."

"Of course it does," Piccolo muttered, "But if that's the rule they've set then it would be in our best interest to honor it." He smirked as the Saiyin prince glared up at him.

"I think it's a nice idea." Goku grinned at Zero, his tail waving freely behind him. "A week full of seeing friends and family before the competition, _and_ eating with all of them sounds great!"

"It does sound like something you'd appreciate, Dad."Gohan laughed, walking up to the others. "So, the girls say we're about to eat soon, they—" A sudden rumbling sound reached the Z fighters. "Hey…what's that?" Gohan and the others turned towards the sound, it was coming from the road south of the house, and getting louder as whatever was making the sound approached.

"What is it?" Yamcha asked, looking around quickly. "Is there an attack coming?" The other fighters looked around too as the rumbling got even louder.

"Oh no," Zero laughed. "That's no attack. That should be Flare's family arriving."

"Her _family_?" Vegeta asked skeptically. "What kind of family makes such a noise?"

"_That_ kind of family." Zero pointed a long, white finger down the road leading towards the house. As he pointed, just over the hill came a sight none of the visitors from Earth were expecting. Rumbling down the gravel road towards the big yellow house came at least ten motorcycles, all riding together in a group, a huge cloud of dust rising behind them. The Z fighters looked over to where Flare had been helping Porgia, Bulma, and Avery set up all of the food for that evening's dinner on several tables outside. Flare looked up as the motorcycles drew closer and a huge grin spread across her face. She waved excitedly to the oncoming bikers and ran down towards the parking area they were now pulling into. Everyone watched as eleven different men began dismounting the motorcycles and removing their helmets before turning to greet Flare. Even from a distance it was obvious they were all related to her, each had the same flaming red hair, green eyes, and cream colored skin. They varied in age, the youngest looking to be a set of twins in their late teens, and the oldest being the barrel-chested middle aged man who was currently crushing Flare in a massive embrace.

Zero looked over at the dumbfounded Z fighters and smirked. "As you can see, Miss Flare's family is quite large. That is her father, Zast, and her ten brothers."

"TEN BROTHERS?!" Goku gulped, unable to tear his eyes from the happy reunion taking place just across the field. "That's the biggest family I've ever seen!"

"Oh, just wait a minute." Zero laughed, "The rest of them should be here soon."

"The REST of them?!" More than one of the Z fighters echoed. Just when they thought Flare couldn't possibly be expecting anymore relatives, a veritable caravan of SUV's and minivans came barreling over the hill the motorcycles had crested moments before. All of the Earth guests watched as several women and at least fifteen children began spilling out of the cars. The eldest woman had to be Flare's mother, six younger women followed and it was obvious that they must be her sisters-in-law, as none were of the same race as the rest of Flare's family. Some of the women were obviously human while a few were some other race the onlookers couldn't immediately identify. The fifteen children ranged in age from the tiniest toddler, to a boy and girl who looked to be about 14 or 15 years old, and at least one of the sisters-in-law was visibly pregnant. As soon as her mother and sisters-in-law had greeted Flare, she was instantly swarmed over by a dozen little red-haired children. Flare laughed as she was pulled to the ground, fending off hugs and kisses from every angle. Trunks and Goten approached the group of milling children, unsure at first if they would want to play or not, however it didn't take long for the five or six children close to the demi-saiyans' ages to find them and begin a raucous game of tag.

"Well, now I know why she was so upset at the late notice." Bulma whispered to Porgia. "I've never _seen_ a family that big!"

After the last of the children had greeted Flare and run off to see the other women who lived in the Guardian house, Flare's demeanor quickly changed. She picked herself up off of the ground and bowed respectfully to a person none of the visitors had even noticed until now. An older, haughty looking woman had made her way slowly from one of the cars over to the rest of the family. Her hair, which was more gray than red, was pulled back in a severe bun, but her eyes shone the same bright green as Flare's and the rest of the family's did. The older woman took Flare's face in her hands and kissed her formally on each cheek before walking immediately up towards the house and seating herself on a chair one of the brothers must have brought from inside. After that someone tense moment, Flare returned to her normal self and began talking excitedly with her father.

As her family members began introducing themselves to the guests over by the house, Porgia turned to where Zero and the Z fighters were still standing and called out, "Hey! Come on up here and meet Flare's family!"

They made their way back over to the house and were soon lost in a sea of introductions, the only names they all managed to get (and remember) were Flare's father Zast, her mother Rosaline, and the older woman who was apparently her great-aunt Millicent. More chairs were brought out for the elder members of her family, as the sisters-in-law began taking inventory of their children and offering the other women help where it was needed, while Flare went to help most of her brothers begin to unload various bags and bundles from the many cars now filling the driveway.

Goku, Vegeta, and Bulma found themselves in a conversation with Zast, who reminded them all of the Ox King in many ways, except he wasn't nearly as tall. Zast's long red hair was pulled back into a braid, accentuating the slightly receding widow's peak that dipped down the top of his forehead. His thick red beard was flecked with grey and he had the many wrinkles around his eyes and mouth of a person who spends most of his time laughing. He joked and laughed and challenged the visitors to see who could learn all of his grandchildren's names the fastest.

"You certainly have a large family," Bulma smiled at the bearded man, she had been doing most of the talking while the Saiyins listened. "I can't imagine how you keep up with all of them!"

"Oh, we Incendians have always valued large families!" Zast said proudly. "Partially it comes from our unfortunate inability to have very many female children," he winked at Bulma. "So we just keep trying until we get one!"

Bulma giggled and blushed, "Apparently so!"

Vegeta rolled his eyes at the flirtation going on between his ex-wife and Flare's father, however something the man said had stirred some inkling of a memory in his mind. "Incendians?" Vegeta asked. "Is that also the name of your home planet?"

Zast's face quickly became very grave, "Yes, our planet was called Incendia."

"_Was_ called?" Goku asked, confused. "Isn't it still called Incendia?"

"No, Goku, I'm afraid it's not." The large man sighed, looking across the field where his wife and children were still unpacking the cars. "Sadly, our planet was destroyed when Flare was very young….There were only two other families besides ours that were off of Incendia at the time, we are the only ones left."

The two Saiyins and Bulma stared in shock at Flare's father, unsure of how to respond. Eventually, Goku cleared his throat and scratched the scar on the back of his head. "I'm really sorry to hear that, Mr. Zast, I know that must have been very hard to handle. Did the other two families settle on this planet as well?"

"No they did not." Zast smiled sadly at the tall Saiyin. "They wanted to try their luck on other planets. We haven't heard from them in many years, not since my youngest two boys were children. For all we know now, our family may be the last one left."

"Why is that?" Bulma asked. "If they were large families as well, I'm sure that their children have gotten married and had their own kids too, right?"

"It's possible," Zast conceded. "However, it's not very likely. Neither of those families had more than four or five children…and none of them had any daughters. While I'm sure their sons might have their own children now, there is little hope that they will be able to keep their true culture alive."

"What do you mean?" Goku asked, stealing a glance at Vegeta. The Saiyin prince looked to be deep in thought, perhaps reflecting on the fact that much of the Saiyin culture had been lost when planet Vegeta was destroyed.

Zast's gaze hardened again slightly. "There is a reason that we place such a high value on our daughters, Goku, at least those of us that are lucky enough to have them. Incendians traditionally are a matriarchal society, our females are much stronger than our males both physically and spiritually." If he noticed the eyebrow Vegeta raised at this information, he didn't show it. "Our daughters carry the very essence of our culture within themselves. While Incendian men may have an affinity to fire and our bodies may be resistant to fire, our women are the only ones who can actually _create_ and _control_ it. It is this inherent fire that keeps our culture and our beliefs alive. Even though many of my sons now have daughters of their own, because they are only half Incendian they can never hold the amount of power that my Flare carries with her. It is a responsibility that is always passed to the youngest living daughter in each individual family," he sighed. "And there are days that I fear that Flare will never have the chance to pass the burden on to a young lady who will be able to handle it."

"Hmph!" No one had noticed Flare's great-aunt Millicent approach the small group while Zast had been speaking. The woman's arrogant tone was one to rival Vegeta's during one of his 'I am the Prince of all Saiyans, damn it!' speeches. "Perhaps there _would_ be a daughter strong enough to handle the responsibility if you had found Flare a husband by now!"

Zast groaned, "Not this again, Aunt Millicent. Rosaline and I have _told _you that we are not going to choose Flare's husband for her, it is _her_ choice!"

"Well you almost chose a husband for her once before!" The Incendian matriarch responded shrilly, obviously not caring if the uncomfortable Earth visitors heard her or not. "If you could attempt to do it once then you can do it again. And I'm sure this time you can find someone more suitable than you did before. While I certainly believe Flare should have been married long before now, it was probably for the best you didn't go through with engaging her to that…that _Saiyan_! What a beastly race that was!"

Goku and Vegeta's mouths dropped open while Bulma looked helplessly back and forth between the arguing Incendians and the dumbfounded Saiyins. Luckily, Goku recovered just before Vegeta did, so he was able to put a restraining hand on the prince's shoulder when he snarled, "WHAT did you say, you old hag?!" He was visibly straining against Goku's hold, his tail snapping violently at his side. "How DARE you insult the great Saiyan race!"

Zast stood and stared down his aunt, "Millicent, perhaps you should go inside and see if any of my daughters-in-law need help with the children."

"But, I-!" The woman sputtered, clearly not used to being ordered around this way.

"I said, _go help them_." Zast's tone brooked no argument. Millicent pursed her lips and looked down her nose at the still furious Vegeta before turning on her heel and marching into the house. Zast rubbed his face and sat down heavily before addressing the other three. "I'm terribly sorry about that, Millicent forgets that we are no longer on Incendia where she could probably get away with something like that." He looked at them and chuckled ruefully, "Forgive me, but, am I right in assuming that you two _are_ Saiyans then?"

"Yes, that's right." Goku answered, sensing that Vegeta was still a little too upset to answer himself. "Vegeta and I are the only full-blooded Saiyans left, and our sons are all half-Saiyan."

Zast nodded and looked across the field where the two younger demis were playing with some of his grandchildren, and where Gohan was talking to Flare who, thankfully, hadn't heard the commotion Millicent had caused before. Suddenly, Zast's green eyes blinked quickly and he turned back to Goku and Vegeta. "Wait just a minute, your said your name is _Vegeta_, yes?"

"Hn," Vegeta nodded gruffly and crossed his arms. "Yes, I am Vegeta, the—"

"The Prince of all Saiyans?" Zast finished for him, looking intently at Vegeta's face.

"That's right!" Bulma said when she realized Vegeta was again too shocked to respond, his mouth hanging slightly open at the fact that _someone_ in the universe had _finally_ known his title without him having to say it. "How on earth did you know that?" Bulma laughed.

After a brief pause, Zast suddenly burst out laughing himself. He slapped his knee and pounded his large fist into the arm of his chair. "_I knew it_!" The burly Incendian crowed, nearly to the point of tears. "I _knew_ I recognized you from somewhere!" He beckoned to his wife, who'd just happened to walk out of the house at that moment. "My dear! Come here a moment! Did you realize who this is?"

Rosaline smiled as she reached the rather surprised looking group, "No, Zast, I did not. Who is he?"

"He's Vegeta! The _Prince_ of the Saiyans!" Zast bellowed, finally getting control of his laughter.

"Really?" Rosaline peered at Vegeta's face for a moment before she too seemed to recognize him. "My, my! I can't believe it." She smiled warmly and quickly wrapped her arms around the astonished prince before he could stop her. Flare's mother stepped back to Zast's side. "Well it certainly is good to see you again, Prince Vegeta. I'm sure you probably don't remember us, do you?"

Vegeta was at a complete loss. He knew that the name of this strange family's home planet had sounded familiar, but he had never dreamed that he'd actually _met_ them before. "I'm sorry," he began slowly. "But I don't believe that I do. Where did we meet?"

"It's an interesting story, actually." Zast said, clearing his throat. "However, first I should probably give you a little background information. My dear older brother, may he rest in peace, was the last king of Incendia. Sadly, he and his queen were never able to have a daughter, as I've said before this was a difficult thing for many Incendian families. So, because they had no daughters by the time Flare was born, according to our laws she automatically became the crown princess of Incendia." All three of the earth visitors glanced across the field where Flare was still talking with Gohan and now also one of her eldest brothers. She laughed at something her brother had said and pushed him playfully. They immediately looked back to Zast, who continued with his story. "We were very happy of course for this honor to be bestowed on Flare, she was a very exceptional child. However, shortly after she was born, a rather….unsavory character arrived unannounced in my brother's court one day. He claimed that if we would make a treaty with him and supply him with warriors for his enterprises, he would use technology at his disposal to help our families conceive more than just a few female children per year. The deal seemed too good to be true, and as chief advisor I told my brother as much. But I think that the sorrow from he and his wife not being able to have a daughter of their own spurned him to consider taking that deceitful bastard up on his offer."

"What," Vegeta forced the question out, although he had a feeling he already knew the answer. "What was his name?"

Zast's eyes narrowed, "His name…was _Freiza_." He spat the name out as Goku and Bulma gasped and looked to Vegeta to make sure the Saiyan prince didn't erupt. Instead, Vegeta seemed remarkably calm under the circumstances, he merely nodded at Zast's answer as his tail wrapped itself snugly around his waist.

Rosaline put a hand on her husband's shoulder as he continued grimly. "What we did not find out until later, was that part of the treaty included arranging a marriage between a royal Incendian child and a child of another planet's royal family. We came to learn that the royal child Freiza had in mind, Vegeta, was _you_. So naturally, the only option from our royal family was Flare, she being the only living female child. She was four years old when my brother ordered Rosaline and I to bring her with us to Freiza's ship to discuss the treaty. If my memory serves me right, I'd say you were about ten years old at the time."

"Speaking of which," Rosaline suddenly interrupted her husband. "I never did thank you properly that day, Vegeta."  
"Thank me?" Vegeta asked softly. "For what?"

"Why, for helping Flare and I the way you did." Rosaline smiled, "You may not remember, but you were the reason my daughter and I made it off of that horrible ship unharmed."

Vegeta felt like his head was spinning. The discussion around him continued, but suddenly he didn't need to hear the words to remember what had happened back then. Rapidly, a memory began to form in his mind's eye, one that he had long since forgotten until this very moment. He had only been on Freiza's ship for a short time himself, perhaps only a year at the most. He remembered walking along a corridor with Radditz, they had just finished training for the morning. They rounded a corner leading to several guest quarters that Frieza kept for visiting diplomats of planets he wanted to control. Just as they came to the end of that hall, they saw that two members of the Ginyu Force had cornered an unfamiliar woman. She was tall and regal, with flowing red hair and bright green eyes. The woman's flowing skirts were spread wide as if she were hiding something behind her as the two sniveling Ginyus made some nasty comment about her wandering the ship all alone. Radditz whispered to the prince that this must be one of the representatives from _Incendia_, a planet Freiza had recently shown interest in. Vegeta didn't really care either way, but he refused to be blamed later for any stunts the Ginyu nitwits might try to pull with this woman. He'd stalked forward with Radditz close behind, and drawing himself up as much as his ten year old body would let him, he'd barked at them. "Burter! Jeice! What in hell do the two of you think you're doing?"

The two Ginyus had turned and sneered at the Saiyin prince. "What's it to you?" Jeice spat, "We're just having a friendly chat with one of Lord Freiza's guests."

"Yeah," Burter smirked. "She sure is a pretty one, isn't she?" He leered at the woman, who impressed Vegeta by drawing herself up and glaring at the blue alien rather than cowering.

"Radditz," Vegeta smirked. "Perhaps we should escort these two to Freiza's chamber and see how he feels about their 'little chat'." Radditz started forward towards them, and it was then that Vegeta saw what was hidden behind the woman's skirts. A small girl had poked her head from behind her mother and was watching the exchange between the Saiyans and the Ginyus. Her red curls were tumbling into her face and she pushed them back so that she could narrow her wide green eyes at the aliens accosting her mother. Cocking his head to one side, Vegeta noticed the little girl making a motion with her free hand. Soon he realized that she was trying to snap her fingers. '_What is she doing?_' He'd thought curiously. Hearing that the Ginyus were still arguing with Radditz, the young prince turned angrily and shouted, "I am the _Prince of all Saiyans_, you idiots! So if I say to leave them alone, then that's what you'll do!" He heard rather than saw the girl finally succeed in snapping her tiny fingers, and the sound was quickly accompanied by the strong smell of burning leather. Jeice looked down just in time to see his boots going up in flames, caught by the tiny ball of fire the child had created in her hand. The red Ginyu yelled and tried in vain to stamp out the flames, which only made them spread farther up his legs. He howled and raced down the hall, Burter followed behind him yelling something about "damned little fire demons!"

Everything was silent for a moment as the Incendians and the Saiyans looked at each other, then Vegeta had burst out laughing while a bewildered Radditz looked on. It was one of the only times he would ever truly laugh while on Freiza's ship, and he'd felt it deep down in his bones. After regaining control, the prince noticed that the woman was bowing to him.

"I appreciate your help," She'd said, her voice deep and smooth. "We'd sent our guard to find out how my husband was doing, and I was worried that he'd been gone so long."

"Well, we will locate him and make sure he returns to you soon." Vegeta replied diplomatically. He then noticed the small girl had scooted around from behind her mother and was staring at him, one tiny hand tucked into her own curls. Vegeta couldn't remember exactly why, but the next thing he knew, he'd taken the girl's free hand in his own and looked down at her. "If you are still on the ship tomorrow, you will have to show me how you did that." Big green eyes looked up at him as she nodded before slipping back into the safety of her mother's skirts.

Vegeta and Radditz had left them there, outside the room they were staying in. However, the next day when they'd gone by again to see them, the girl and her parents were already gone.

Vegeta's attention came back into the present as Rosaline finished telling the others the exact story he'd just remembered in his own mind. He couldn't believe that these were the very same people he had met all those years ago, but then…that meant…

"We left the ship that very night," Zast was saying after his wife finished. "During our trip back to Incendia I'd convinced my brother that the treaty was a bad idea, and he informed Freiza that we were declining his offer….Our planet was destroyed before we'd even made it halfway back. It was pure luck that all of our sons and my aunt had chosen to come with us and wait on our own ship while we were negotiating. We caught up with the other two families and stayed together until they decided to go out on their own. Soon after that we found our way here," He waved his arm around at their surroundings. "It was the best decision we could have made."

"Oh my god," Bulma gasped, as she put two and two together. "So that means that if your brother had gone through with the treaty…" She looked over at Vegeta. "Then _he' d_ be married to _Flare_ right now!" Bulma giggled. "That's crazy! But, wait a minute." She peered across the field again at Flare. "If Vegeta was ten years old and Flare was four years old, then they're only six years apart in age…"

"Yes, so?" Vegeta huffed, annoyed at the enjoyment the woman was getting out of this.

"Well that can't possibly be right!" Bulma exclaimed. "Flare only looks like she's in her mid-twenties at the _most_, and we all know that Vegeta is—"

"_Enough_, woman!" The Saiyin prince snapped. He was having enough trouble wrapping his head around all of this new information without her muddying it up.

"It's alright, Bulma." Rosaline chuckled. "You see, much like the Saiyan race, Incendians don't age as quickly as humans do. Flare looks exactly how she should for her age."

Goku was interested in this comparison of Saiyans to Incendians. "Well then, how old are you two? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Oh, let's see…" Zast thought for a minute. "My lovely Rosaline turned 94 this past spring, and I'll be 105 years old by winter."

"You'll be 106, dear." Rosaline giggled, tugging gently on his beard.

Bulma looked completely unconvinced. "You're 94 and 106?!" She squeaked. "But you only look like you're in your early fifties! Oh my god, I feel so _old!_" Bulma hid her face in her hands and groaned. "Why do humans have to _age_ so quickly?!"

Vegeta sighed, this was an argument he'd had to sit through many times when they were married, and he didn't intend on repeating it now. "I am very sorry for the loss of your planet." He said to Flare's parents. "It is good to know that you've survived and prospered during this time, though."  
"Thank you, Vegeta." Zast and Rosaline both bowed slightly to the Saiyan Prince, and he returned the gesture.

"Hey," Bulma spoke up again, earning a growl from Vegeta that she ignored. "So, does Flare know about all of this? I mean, does she know that she was almost _engaged_ to Vegeta?"

"Oh, yes, of course." Rosaline nodded. "As Zast has told you, I'm sure, Flare is the current keeper of our family's culture and history. She knows everything about our family's history because it is her _duty _to hold all of this knowledge until it can be passed on."

"Hmm," Bulma mused, "I wonder why she didn't say anything before when she met Vegeta on Earth?"

"She probably didn't want to make anyone feel awkward," Goku chuckled. "I know I'd feel strange if some woman I'd just met told me she was almost my wife nearly thirty years ago."

"Shut up, Kakarrot." Vegeta snapped, still mulling over what he'd just heard. _'So,'_ he smirked to himself. _'Miss Flare is the tiny princess who set that imbecile Jeice's feet on fire that day…'_ Vegeta glanced back across the field at the curvy young woman. _'She certainly has grown up since then…'_


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing so far! Enjoy chapter 4!

Ch. 4 – The Ritual

After the large Incendian family had unpacked their belongings, everyone settled down to eat and talk with the visitors from Earth. The sky had darkened and Terra's two bright moons winked down at the gathering, the Saiyans and their sons were really enjoying the chance to see the moons without the possibility of transforming into _Oozaru_. Porgia had also used her powers to quickly string up several strands of lights to give the group some added illumination. Everyone was sitting around discussing the tournament, Incendian customs versus Earth customs, and a number of other topics. Once everyone had eaten, one of Flare's elder brothers, a tall and muscular man named Jev, jumped up and called out. "Ok, brothers! It's time to set up!" He grinned as several of his siblings got up as well and went down to one of the SUVs the family had driven there. They began taking out multiple instrument cases, amplifiers, and even a few microphones. Next came a small pile of sanded lumber which they placed a little ways out in the field.

"Porgia," Jev smiled at the telepath and swept his hand towards the wood. "Would you do the honors, please?"

The purple-haired guardian laughed and shook her head. Reaching out a hand she let a stream of purple ki float towards the lumber, which began to move of its own accord and started placing itself in the shape of a small stage. Nails and fittings flew through the air after the wood and began inserting themselves into the appropriate spots. In a matter of minutes Porgia had assembled a 10 foot by 12 foot stage that stood about 8 inches off of the ground. Flare's brothers immediately began setting up various instruments, including a small drum set and an electronic keyboard.

"What's going on?" Bulma asked Flare's mother.

Rosaline smiled, "Music is a very important part of Incendian culture, it is how we have been able to keep much of our heritage alive over the years. The boys are going to play and sing for us."

"What about Flare?" Bulma looked back towards the porch, where Flare was currently surrounded by many of her younger nieces and nephews, as well as Goten and Trunks.

"Oh, she will join them later perhaps." Rosaline said, nodding to the little group. "Right now she is preparing the children to go to bed." Bulma wanted to ask what Rosaline meant by that, but was cut off by a sudden blast of music as one of the Incendian brothers began tuning an electric guitar.

"Turn the amp down!" One of the twin boys called from where he and his identical brother were each tuning a violin and an acoustic guitar, respectively.

"Sorry!" The offending brother called, adjusting a knob on the amplifier. The Earth guests watched with interest as the sound of tuning instruments continued to perforate the night air. Soon, however, a new sound began to rise above the instruments. Those with more sensitive hearing picked it up first, unsure of what it was. It wasn't until everyone started looking towards the house's porch that the origin of the new sound was figured out. It was Flare, she was singing to the children. She was sitting in a rocking chair, a toddler in her arms and a small congregation of young children around her feet. Trunks and Goten's hair stood out amongst the sea of little redheads, but they were as riveted on the singing Guardian as the other children were. Flare's voice was unlike anything the visitors to Terra had ever heard, it was smooth and sweet one minute, husky and full of emotion the next. She was singing an Incendian lullaby to the children, the language was intricate and full of unfamiliar sounds. As her voice got louder, those who could read ki realized that Flare's ki levels were actually rising and falling with the cadence of her voice. Towards the end of the song, she even used a little ki to bend her voice, making it sound like two women were singing in harmony. One by one the children were nodding off, their mothers and fathers taking turns picking them up and carrying them inside. Flare's father picked up the two sound asleep demi-Saiyans and nodded to their parents, letting them know he'd take them up to bed. The boys' tails curled around Zast's massive forearms as he disappeared into the house. Flare's song ended just as the last child was picked up off of the porch, without another word Flare stood herself and carried the toddler into the house.

"Whoa…" Yamcha murmured, he turned to Rosalin. "How did she do that? That double voice thing?"

"It is a trick that several of my children can do actually," Rosalin smiled. "Something they are able to pick up when they start learning their instruments. Flare is the only one who can hold it for longer periods of time, though." She chuckled. "And it's so useful for getting the children to go to sleep."

Zast came back out of the house, one arm around Flare and another around one of his sons. "There! Now that the young ones are asleep the celebrating can really begin!" He bellowed, motioning to the four young men currently on the stage. "Let's have some music, boys!"

The Incendians were happy to oblige, and soon had a fun, upbeat song going. Zast released his children to go grab his wife and pull her onto the grass by the stage for a dance. Flare smiled and shook her head, her father was so much happier than he'd been when they'd first come to Terra. It had taken several years for their entire family to be happy again, but now that they were it often seemed like they had never lived anywhere else.

"That song was so beautiful, Flare!" Bulma chose that moment to arrive at Flare's side, handing her a glass of wine and clinking it with her own. "I just can't believe how talented your whole family is!"

"Well, I doubt our parents would have been so insistent on us learning as much as we did if we weren't the last ones…" Flare smiled sadly, then quickly picked herself up and clinked Bulma's glass back. "To family." The two women watched the musicians play as a couple of brothers and their wives got up to join Zast and Rosaline on the makeshift dance floor.

Bulma glanced around quickly, making sure Vegeta wasn't nearby, and then she leaned in towards Flare to whisper slyly. "_Sooo_, I heard from a reliable source that you were almost _engaged_ to Vegeta?" She grinned wickedly when Flare choked on her wine and looked around them to make sure the Saiyian Prince wasn't listening.

"Yes, that's true…" Flare said slowly. "But aren't…aren't _you_ married to him?"

Bulma cackled. "Well, I was! But we haven't been together for a long time. We both love Trunks and are both raising him…but I don't think we were ever _really_ in love. I'm not sure the 'Prince of all Saiyans' even knows _how _to be in love, to be honest. He had such a tough upbringing."

"Yes, I know." Flare murmured, finding said Saiyan prince leaned against a tree across the field, deep in conversation with Piccolo. "Even though I was very young when we met, I've thought about him occasionally over the years. I always wondered how his life turned out, how he was doing." Flare sighed, which suddenly gave Bulma a rather genius idea. Bulma excused herself to get some more wine and wove her way through the gathering until she found who she was looking for. Ever since Zast had told them the story of their planet's unfortunate destruction earlier that day, Bulma had been tossing an idea around in her head. _'What if?'_ She'd wondered._ 'What if there could be something between those two after all this time? So what if we've only been here a day? There's something there, I just know it!'_ And now she'd just thought of the perfect way to test her theory. _'This is going to be fun!'_ She giggled to herself and grabbed her unknowing accomplice to explain what she wanted him to do.

OOOOOOOOOO

Piccolo and Vegeta stood slightly apart from the music and dancing, preferring to discuss the possible opponents they would be facing in the tournament instead of mingling with the others. Vegeta noticed his ex-wife speaking to Flare, the blue haired woman must have said something to startle the Guardian because she suddenly choked on her drink and looked at the woman with wide green eyes. His curiosity was raised but he ignored it when Bulma moved away and disappeared into the crowd. He still couldn't get over the _massive_ size of Flare's family, and how they all seemed so involved with each other's lives. Vegeta had hardly known any of his relatives, and now he was closer to his son than he'd ever been to anyone, including Radditz. The Namek nudged his shoulder, getting his attention.

"Daydreaming?" Piccolo asked, noticing where the prince's gaze had wandered to after he'd repeated the same question three times with no answer. "You know, you can always just _ask_ her why she didn't say anything about meeting you before."

Vegeta looked up, startled. "How did _you_ know about that, Nemak?"

"Goku told me." Piccolo chuckled. "He's more of a gossip than your former wife is."

"Hn…" Vegeta glared at him and crossed his arms, his tail flicked irritably behind his legs. He forced himself to look at the Incendian couples dancing by the stage instead, he was intrigued by the level of devotion they had to their heritage. He had very little knowledge of the Saiyan culture that he could pass on to Trunks, and Karkorrot had _none_, being raised on Earth.

"Speaking of Goku…" Piccolo's voice brought him back out of his thoughts. "Take a look at _that_."

Vegeta looked up to see Kakarrot bowing to Flare, grinning like an oaf as he asked her to dance. She smiled at him and put her glass down, nodding her acceptance. He took her hand and led her over by her parents. Some of the brothers had just finished switching places to take turns playing, and they started up a new song, one that was slower with a winding melody that one of the twins played on his violin. Goku kept her right hand, and placed his other hand around the small of her back. The large Saiyan's hand looked huge against Flare's tiny waist, and he had to look down at her so that they could speak, but otherwise it looked like they were having fun.

Vegeta felt a sudden, uncomfortable sensation in the pit of his stomach. His Saiyan instincts suddenly resenting Kakarrot for touching Flare in such an intimate way. The prince hadn't even realized he'd begun to softly growl until Piccolo prodded him with an elbow.

"Take it easy there." Piccolo said, low enough so only Vegeta heard him. "You're going to draw attention to yourself that way."

Vegeta grunted and leaned heavily against the tree again, his tail coiled tightly around his waist. _'This is ridiculous!'_ He thought angrily. _'Get a hold of yourself! There is _no_ reason for you to be acting this way! She's just dancing with Kakarrot, it's not as if he'd be interested in…' _A sudden thought interrupted his rationalizations. Kakarrot was no longer married to _his_ wife either…they'd just been living together as friends for several years now, so that they could both be in Goten's life. His spine stiffened at the thought…Kakarrot was strong, loyal, not unattractive…If the Incendians took a partner's strength into consideration the way Saiyans did then it was very possible that she might…but no! They couldn't possibly be that compatible, could they?

The Saiyan prince jumped when a cool hand touched his, he looked up to find Avery prying his hand off of the tree. "Sorry, Vegeta." She said softly. "But, if you don't mind, you're kind of hurting the tree." The tall Guardian nodded down at the tree trunk where his hand had been, he looked and saw a smoldering handprint burned into the bark from his ki.

"I…I apologize." He muttered and stalked off around the edge of the gathering towards the house.

"Is he alright?" Avery turned to Piccolo, looking up the few inches that separated them in height.

"He will be," Piccolo rumbled. He traced the now cooled handprint in the bark of the tree. "How did you know he was doing that? It was so faint I didn't even sense it."

Avery waited until Piccolo took his hand away before placing her own hand on the tree. She winced and took a deep breath, letting a stream of cool, green ki flow into the tree. "Normally I'm able to block out a lot of the energy that's given off when plants are damaged, or eaten by animals, basic things like that. But this tree was practically _screaming_ at me…I had to stop him before he burned all the way through it." Avery took her hand away to show the bark mostly repaired, only a faint mark left behind gave any indication the trunk had been damaged.

Piccolo looked back and forth from the tree to Avery's hands. "Have you always been able to do that, have such a deep connection to plants like that?"

"For as long as I can remember." Avery nodded and took Vegeta's place against the tree. "I have no idea how my mother was able to handle it sometimes, especially when I was very young and had no control over what I was growing."

"Doesn't your mother have the same abilities?" The Namek asked curiously. "Usually powers that specific are inherited."

"Perhaps," She sighed, watching Flare's brothers switch again and start up a new song. "But my mother doesn't have any abilities like this…actually, she's a human."  
"What?" Piccolo stared down at her. "She is?"

"That's right," Avery smirked up at him. "Obviously my _father_ wasn't human. My parents met here on Terra, but he left for some reason when I was still a baby…I don't remember anything about him."

Piccolo studied her decidedly non-human features before asking, "Your mother hasn't told you about him?"

"No," Avery sighed again. "It upsets her too much to talk about him, so I stopped asking a long time ago. She'll tell me when she's ready, I suppose. At least I know it's going to be interesting." She smiled up at him, her fang-like canines flashing in the moonlight.

Piccolo felt slightly uncomfortable for some reason, unsure of what to say next. He was saved from having to break the silence when Porgia walked up.

"Hey!" The telepath smiled and linked her arm with Avery's. "I think Flare's brothers have talked her into playing a couple songs with them, let's go watch." Avery nodded and let herself be led back towards the stage, turning back she waved goodbye at Piccolo. Startled, the Namek raised a hand in return, then without thinking placed it back on the place Avery had just healed on the tree. He pulled it back quickly, but his fingers still tingled with the jolt raw energy that had surged up from the tree into his arm.

OOOOOOOOOO

The gathering eventually started to wind down, but not before Zast stood up on the makeshift stage and made an announcement. "Before everyone turns in for the night," he chuckled, noticing that a couple of his sons were already passed out on the porch of the house. "I would just like to let our new friends know, that tomorrow we will be observing an ancient, and special tradition in our family. We do this once a year and any of you who would like to join us are more than welcome. However, we ask that if you are not participating, that you respect the delicacy of this event and not interrupt for _any_ reason." Zast looked stern for a moment before returning to his usual jovial self. "With that being said, goodnight everyone!" He laughed and stepped down heavily from the stage. Flare's brothers began turning off all of their equipment and covering everything up.

Bulma was sitting by one of the food tables with Rosaline. "What tradition is he talking about?" She yawned, stretching out in her chair.

"Our most important one," Rosaline said, watching her family prepare to go inside for the night. "Tomorrow is the day that we give Flare all of our memories for the last year."

"You're going to give her your _memories_?" Goku asked, walking up with Vegeta not far behind. The taller Saiyan could feel some definite hostility coming off of the prince towards him when he'd approached him shortly before Zast's announcement, but Vegeta hadn't wanted to talk about it. He had coaxed Vegeta, however, into going with him to bid Flare's parents goodnight.

"Yes," Rosaline nodded. "Remember how we told you that the youngest daughter of each family _keeps_ our culture and heritage alive for us? Well, we add to that every year, giving her our most important, recent memories to keep along with the rest of the knowledge she guards…it's a big responsibility. Only a daughter with incredible strength of character is able to do it for very long."

"And how long has Flare been…_holding_ all of this inside of herself?" Bulma murmured.

"Since she was fifteen years old," Rosaline sighed tiredly. "Far too long, but…we just aren't sure if any of our sons' daughters can handle it yet."

"Where is Flare, anyway?" Goku asked, looking around. "I haven't seen her since she finished playing some of the music with her brothers."

"Oh, she's around somewhere." Rosaline chuckled, pushing herself up out of her chair as Zast walked over. "Flare has a habit of wandering off by herself the night before we perform the ritual. She'll show herself when she's ready to."

"Yes, don't worry about our Flare." Zast agreed, offering his arm to his wife. "She's much stronger than she lets on." He winked and escorted Rosaline into the house.

"Well, goodnight you guys!" Goku grinned, seeing that they were the last ones to go inside. He trotted into the house, where Bulma and Vegeta could hear him inquiring about a midnight snack to Porgia.

Bulma laughed. "That Goku, I swear he'll eat himself silly one day."

Vegeta grunted and crossed his arms, still trying to restrain the urge that had taken hold of him earlier to bash Kakarrot's smiling face in.

"Something wrong?" Bulma asked coyly.

"Of course not, woman." Vegeta snapped. "Why on earth would you ask such a thing?"

His ex-wife put her hands on her hips and smiled wryly. "Vegeta, we may not have been married for very long, but I can still tell when something is bothering you." She started to say something else, but then thought better of it. _'I knew it!'_ Bulma thought, she'd seen the agitated way Vegeta's tail had been twitching when she'd mentioned Goku's name. _'He likes her!'_ Flipping her blue hair off of her shoulder, Bulma turned to go into the house. "Fine then, you don't have to tell me what it is." She stopped on the stairs and turned back, "Oh, and I know that Flare's parents said she'd be ok, but maybe you should find her and just make sure she doesn't need anything."

Startled, Vegeta looked up to tell the woman what a ridiculous idea that was, but she'd already gone inside. He grumbled to himself and looked around, no one else was outside. The Saiyan prince had no idea what time it was, but judging by the planet's two moons he guessed there would only be 3 or 4 more hours until dawn. He decided to walk around the back of the house to inspect the Guardians' sparring ring, he didn't have a good chance to look at it when they'd first arrived. _'Have we really only been here a little more than a day?'_ Vegeta thought to himself as he reached the tiled surface. _'It seems like a lot longer.'_ He tapped a foot experimentally on the tiles and found them satisfactory. Scanning the horizon, Vegeta felt oddly calm standing there surrounded by the darkness. His tail relaxed down by his side as he closed his eyes, listening to all of the different sounds of the night. Insects chirped and buzzed around him, the grass rustled in the breeze, farther ahead in the woods a creek bubbled down its path, and… _'What was that?'_ Vegeta suddenly picked up traces of another sound, so faint that he had to strain to pinpoint its location. As he moved closer to the nearest crop of forest by the house he realized what he was hearing, someone in the woods was strumming a guitar.

Walking quietly through the field and into the underbrush of the forest, Vegeta continued to move towards the music. It wasn't long before he came to the edge of a clearing, and there by a stream sat the Guardian Flare. Her back was against a large tree, with her feet stretched out on a smooth stone that jutted into the stream and her eyes closed. She had the guitar in her lap and was absentmindedly strumming, alternating between humming and singing a few lines to a song.

"I've been down a thousand times, been up a few.

Beat my heart until it turned black and blue.

Left traces of my soul lying on the floor.

I've done a lot of things, but I won't do that no more…" _*(Song credit at bottom of page)_

Vegeta suddenly felt that he was intruding on something very private. He started to back away, not noticing the twig his slightly curled tail caught as he backed up. The twig snapped, and Vegeta froze. Looking up, Flare stopped playing, her face not registering any particular emotion right away. The Guardian just looked at the embarrassed Saiyan prince for a long moment before she shook her head ruefully and patted the ground next to her, inviting him to sit down. Cautiously, Vegeta moved into the clearing and sat next to her, keeping enough distance between them so as not to make her feel crowded. They sat for a long time, watching the water run down the stream, neither of them speaking.

Finally, Vegeta cleared his throat and turned to her. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"About what?" She began plucking a few random notes on the guitar again.

"About…well about the fact that we'd already _met_ before?" He looked down at his hands, still surprised sometimes that he no longer wore those heavy white gloves.

"Well," Flare sighed, still strumming the guitar. "I wasn't even sure you'd remember that, for one thing. For another…there are _so many_ memories besides my own in my head. Sometimes it's hard for me to sort through the ones that are solely mine, and the ones I share with other members of my family. I remembered meeting you before…that memory would stand out from time to time out of the others…And I figured if you _did_ remember that it would get brought up sooner or later, especially with my parents around." She smiled softly and shook her head. "Did you know before my parents told you?"

"I wasn't sure," Vegeta said softly. "I knew something about you seemed familiar at the Lookout, when you, um…" He snapped his fingers and cupped his hand just like she had when she revealed that she was a fire bender.

"Oh, I see." Flare chuckled. "I had just learned how to do that right before…before we went onto that ship."

Vegeta was unsure about what to say next, his usual confidence seemed to have deserted him. He leaned back on his hands, "This has been a very…confusing day." He said at last. "I think I'm still adjusting, some of it is a little hard to believe."

"Welcome to my world." Flare smirked. The sarcasm behind that remark did not go unnoticed by the Saiyan beside her. "Oh, by the way," She stopped strumming and looked at him for the first time since he'd sat down. "_I_ can't believe you have a _son_." Flare pushed a few unruly curls off of her face and smiled. "He's really an incredible kid."

"Yes I know…thank you." Vegeta flushed slightly, the tip of his tail twitched. "I've spent the last few years trying make up for some of my…shortcomings as a father." His fingers gripped the grass beneath them. "I wasn't there much for Trunks in the beginning…"

"Well, he obviously loves you very much. So you must be doing _something_ right." She said reassuringly, giggling at the startled look he gave her.

He cleared his throat again. "So…is there a reason why _you've_ never…I mean from the way your _aunt_ talks it seems like…um…well…"  
"Why don't I have a family of my own?" Flare finished for him. Vegeta flushed again and nodded. The Incendian woman snorted and looked out into the forest. "My _dear_ great-aunt has a lot of ideas about when people should or shouldn't be getting married. She doesn't seem to understand that I just haven't been with anyone yet who I'd want to make that kind of commitment to. _Her_ marriage was arranged, so she doesn't see any problem trying to meddle with my private life." She sighed. "There was someone that I might have…a long time ago, but…well, he's gone now." Flare turned back to him, smiling a little sadly. "Besides, my '_responsibilities_' to my family take up a lot of my time and attention…finding a life partner just hasn't been something I've devoted a lot of energy to."

Vegeta frowned. "Can't you ask them to not give you so much…information to hold on to? Or try and see if one of your nieces might be able to take your place?"

"No." She said firmly. "I can't ask them that. Do you know what could happen if my oldest niece _isn't_ strong enough to handle this? It could drive her insane. Or even _kill_ her." Flare took the guitar off of her lap and stood up. "I won't let that happen. I'll keep doing this until I die if I have to…You'll see tomorrow, if you decide to watch the ritual." She looked down at him. "It's nearly dawn, and I have some things I need to take care of…I'll see you back at the house." The Guardian took off into the air, leaving her instrument behind.

Vegeta stood up, concerned that he'd upset her. "Flare?" He called out, but she was too far away to hear him. He scowled down at the guitar, then picked it up and turned back towards the edge of the forest.

_'I must be out of my mind.'_ The Saiyan prince thought irritably as he came out of the woods and took off into the air towards the yellow house.

OOOOOOOOOO

The next morning found Porgia alone in the kitchen, brewing a pot of coffee. She was usually the first one awake, her mind only resting for a few hours at a time. Breathing in the rich smell of the hot beverage, she poured herself a mug full just as Piccolo walked into the room. He nodded good morning, politely declined the coffee she offered and poured himself a glass of water instead. The telepath and the Namek stood in silence in the large kitchen, enjoying the view out of the windows. The silent moment did not last too long, however, as Trunks, Goten, and several of the Incendian children began making their way down the stairs and into the kitchen in search of breakfast. Piccolo smirked as Porgia took the easy way out, leaning against the counter and using her powers to set out several bowls, spoons, boxes of cereal, and a couple gallons of milk.

"That's cheating." He murmured when she retreated over to his side of the room to let the children have at it.

"Sometimes cheating is necessary," Porgia laughed and sipped her drink. "Especially with nearly twenty children staying in the house. Also, it gives their parents a break."

Piccolo nodded, remembering when he had taken care of Gohan for a year in the wilderness. He'd had a hard enough time keeping track of one demi-Saiyan, he couldn't imagine having to watch out for _this_ many children.

The rest of the house gradually woke up, the Incendians preparing for the ritual they would be performing while the Guardians and visitors watched. Zero appeared out of nowhere at some point and took his place in one of the rocking chairs on the front porch, instantly falling into a deep meditative trance.

Zast and Rosaline were just finishing assembling all of their sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren on the sparring ring when Flare made her way out of the woods behind the house. Millicent stood off to the side with the two smallest toddlers in their strollers.

"Flare! There you are." Zast smiled. "We were beginning to think you weren't going to show up." He winked at her as she passed by.

"Don't worry, Dad." Flare smiled tiredly. "You know I wouldn't do that." She trudged past her family and the guests from Earth. It was obvious from the dark circles under her eyes that she hadn't slept at all. Upon reaching the porch she grabbed Porgia by the arm and towed the telepath into the house behind her.

"Is she…ok?" Yamcha asked Avery. "She seemed a little out of it."

"She'll be fine." Avery answered. "Porgia will help her prepare mentally while she changes."

"Changes?" Bulma tilted her head curiously. "Changes into what? Her family members are all wearing normal clothes."

Avery sat down on the back porch steps, the dog Zeus trotted over to her and sat by her feet. "Yes, but since Flare is going to be the 'center' of this ritual, so to speak, her great-aunt always insists that she wear 'traditional' Incendian attire." The tall Guardian rolled her eyes and leaned back against the top step. "The woman has thrown a fit every time Flare has tried to wear her everyday clothes, so she just does what Millicent wants now."

"Well that's kind of stupid." Bulma muttered under her breath.

Rosaline approached the group on the porch, "So, did any of you decide if you'd like to participate with us? You aren't required to actually give Flare a memory if you aren't part of the family, she'll basically just take a small portion of ki from you and then give it back at the end." She looked at them expectantly.

"Well, I think Vegeta, Yamcha, Gohan, and Goku are going to do it, right guys?" Bulma asked them, the fighters nodded. "I'm going to sit out with Avery, but thank you for offering."

"You don't participate?" Piccolo asked the brunette Guardian.

"No," Avery looked up at them from her seat on the porch. "I've tried it a couple of times, but Flare's ki doesn't mix well with mine, I ended up getting sick."

Trunks and Goten popped up in the group of adults. "Can we do it too?" Goten asked excitedly.

"I don't know…" Bulma began.

"Please, PLEASE?" Trunks begged. "The other kids said it's really fun!" He looked at Flare's mother for help.

Rosaline smiled, "As long as it is ok with your parents, then you are welcome to join us." She turned to Bulma and the two Saiyans, "It won't harm them at all." She assured them.

"Well, ok." Bulma conceded. Goku gave his consent too and the two young demis ran off to sit with Flare's nieces and nephews.

"Wonderful!" Rosaline clasped her hands together. "Now all we need is for Porgia and Flare to join us…Ah! And here they are."

The Earth visitors followed Rosaline's gaze to the back door of the house. Porgia walked out first, Flare following slowly behind her. Flare had changed into a traditional, Incendian ceremonial dress. Multiple layers of red, orange, and grey sheer skirts started at her hips and fell down around her ankles. Her midriff was bare, showing the defined muscles of her stomach and lower back. The top of the dress consisted of a grey vest with long, sheer, grey and red sleeves. She had multiple copper bracelets stacked on her wrists and ankles, and a small copper circlet nestled in her curls.

"Darling, you look wonderful." Rosaline smiled and took her daughter's hand, leading her down to the rest of the family.

"Well, let's go." Porgia began leading the way for the guests who wanted to participate in the ritual. Piccolo noticed that Vegeta wasn't moving, his eyes had locked on Flare from the moment she'd walked out of the house. The Namek sighed and poked the Saiyan prince in the small of his back with one of his long, sharp fingernails. Vegeta gave an almost imperceptible jump and glared at Piccolo.

"Will you _stop_ doing that?" Vegeta hissed as they moved to catch up with Porgia and the others.

"I'll stop doing that when _you_ stop going into a trance every time you _see_ her." Piccolo rumbled, shaking his head at the bizarre changes that had come over the usually surly Saiyan ever since they'd embarked on this crazy venture.

Upon reaching the large family gathered in the sparring ring, Rosaline arranged the non-family participants in a half circle behind the inner circle composed of Flare's father and brothers. The sisters-in-law and children formed their own half circle on the other side of the ring. Flare stood in the middle, with her mother. Mother and daughter faced each other, Rosaline placing her hands palm down into Flare's hands. The air in and around the tiled sparring floor suddenly became very heavy as the two women's ki began to glow around them. After a few minutes, Rosaline carefully removed her hands from Flare's and stepped back to join the inner circle. Flare's ki continued to grow, the color changing to a deep, blood red as it soared higher. Eyes closed, she placed her right hand over her heart and let loose a stream of ki into her own chest. Sweat began to form along her brow as she slowly began to pull her hand away, a small ball of fire seemed to come out of her chest as she pulled. Her breath began to speed up as she finally succeeded in bringing the entire ball out of her body. Flare opened her eyes, her pupils and irises glowing bright red as she studied the fire for a moment. Then, she brought the fire above her head and spoke a single word in Incendian. Gradually, small threads of red ki began to flow out of each of her family members' chests, flowing and writhing towards the uplifted fire ball. Shortly after the red threads began pouring into the fire above Flare's head, similar threads started pulling out of the non-Incendian participants.

Vegeta didn't know what the other members of his group were feeling right at that moment, but for him it felt like a lightning bolt was being shot through his chest and pulled right back out again. The heat and power that were rolling off of Flare were increasing rapidly as the fire ball in her hands grew. He tried to not think, to just close his eyes and empty his mind so that he wouldn't burden her with anymore memories, but it was hard. His mind kept going back to that day they had met as children, how fascinated he'd been by that tiny girl, and how he'd actually been a little disappointed to find her gone the next day. Vegeta's eyes shot open as the thread of golden ki that had been flowing out of his body suddenly stopped. What he saw made his breath catch in his chest. Flare looked so…so beautiful, so powerful. She'd gathered everything that she could from those around her, the muscles in her shoulders and arms visibly straining to hold the now enormous mass of fire above her head. The power of Flare's ki was at a staggering level, one that he'd only felt when he'd ascended into the higher Super Saiyin levels. Flare seemed to be gathering her strength, sweat pouring down her temples, she gazed up at the fire and uttered another single Incendian word. Suddenly, Vegeta felt as if most of his senses had been turned off. He couldn't hear anything, couldn't smell anything, couldn't feel the heat rolling off of Flare, all he could do was _see _what was happening. Vegeta watched as slowly the fire began to melt and flow down, covering Flare like a second skin. There was a pressure building somewhere around the edges of his perception, and the more the fire soaked into her body the more that pressure grew. Then, just when the pressure was beginning to get uncomfortable, there was an almost audible **pop** in the atmosphere, and all of his other senses came rushing back. The group surrounding the still glowing guardian seemed to heave a collective sigh. Flare opened her eyes, which had returned to normal, and brought her hands down in front of her heart. She held a now tiny, pulsating ball of fire between her palms. Bringing it up to her face, she gently blew onto it, sending small beads of fire back out to those standing around her. A bead wound its way to Vegeta, hovering in front of him for a few seconds before slowly melting into his chest. A soothing warmth blossomed in his breast bone and spread throughout his body. He felt _amazing_, like he'd just eaten ten senzu beans. Looking back up at Flare, he realized she was swaying where she stood, barley conscious as her ki continued to return to a normal level. Vegeta took a step towards her, but stopped when he saw her eldest brother move quickly and pick her up off of her feet. She was unconscious before he'd even gotten her fully off the ground.

The circle of family members parted to let him through, Porgia trotting to catch up with them so she could guide Flare's brother over to the nearby healing pool. Carefully he put her down on a seat inside the warm water, placing her head on a cushion Porgia provided. Slowly, as if waking from a dream, all of Flare's family members started to make their way back inside the yellow house. Soon, only Porgia, Avery, the Earth visitors, and Flare's oldest brother remained outside. Avery helped keep Flare's head up out of the water while Porgia went to retrieve a small basket from the porch. Returning to the pool, Porgia slipped off her shoes and got into the water fully clothed next to Flare. The violet-eyed Guardian took a glass bottle from the basket and began working the soap it contained into Flare's scarlet curls. A steady stream of purple ki flowed out of Porgia's fingertips and into Flare's head, soothing her severely overwhelmed mind.

Bulma ran up to the others, picking Trunks up and studying his face. "Trunks! Are you ok, son?"

"Mom…" Trunks seemed to break out of his trance. "That was AWESOME!" His lavender tail waved wildly behind him as he squirmed out of her hold. "Can _our_ family start doing that?"

"No, boy." Vegeta said sternly as he, and the other Z fighters walked over. "We _cannot_ start doing that."

"But Dad," Trunks whirled around. "Don't you feel _great_?"

Vegeta caught his son and lifted him up, pointing his face towards the healing pool. He spoke softly into Trunks' ear, "Yes, boy, I _do_ feel good. But do you see the toll this has taken on her? Would you expect your mother or grandmother to have to endure such a burden?" Trunks shook his head, Vegeta "hn'd" and put him back down.

Flare's brother walked over to where the visitors were standing with Avery. He was built much like his father and even had close-cropped, red beard just like Zast's. "I trust everyone who took part in the ritual is doing well?" He asked, his voice a deep rumble.

"Oh, yeah." Gohan nodded, "I don't think any of us have ever experienced _anything_ like that before…um…I'm sorry, what was your name again?"

Flare's eldest brother chuckled. "It's perfectly alright! I know there are a lot of us to remember. My name is Nelahk."

"Nelahk, why did the rest of your family just leave Flare out here?" Bulma asked curiously. "Don't they want to know how she's doing?"  
Nelahk looked back at his only sister, still unconscious in the pool. "We learned a long time ago that Flare doesn't really like for any of us to talk to her until she's finished sorting through all of the memories we've given her." He gave a short laugh. "A few years back one of the twins forgot and she tried to set him on _fire_, so when Flare's ready to see us she'll let us know." He nodded to all of them and went into the house to join the rest of the family.

"This family just gets weirder and weirder," Bulma muttered to herself. Vegeta's Saiyan hearing picked up the comment however, and he smirked in agreement. He looked over at the pool again, only to see Kakarrot making his merry way over to speak to the two Guardians helping Flare. The Saiyan prince just barely bit back the growl that rose in his throat, as he turned and stalked after the younger Saiyan. This little instance did not go unnoticed by Bulma, who smiled wickedly before going to drag Yamcha into the house to help her fix some lunch. Gohan and Piccolo were leaned against the porch railing, discussing the differences between what they'd experienced during the ritual, while the two youngest demi-Saiyans ran off in search of their new Incendian friends.

Vegeta reached the pool just as Kakarrot was inquiring about what Porgia was doing. The telepath explained that the soap she'd been working into Flare's hair had relaxing properties and would help the young Guardian to adjust once she awoke. Just at that moment, Flare began to stir.

"Could you please hand me those towels on the edge of the deck there?" Avery asked Vegeta. He grabbed the large towels and handed them off to her just as Porgia was helping Flare sit up in the water.

"Oh, _shit_…" Flare moaned, pressing her right thumb and index finger onto her eyelids. "That gets harder every damn year." She looked up, noticing the two concerned looking Saiyans and sighed. "Hi there…So, what did you think?"

Goku babbled on for a minute about how exhilarating the experience had been before Vegeta flicked him behind the knee with his tail, a silent command for the taller warrior to _just shut up_. None of the Guardians noticed, however, they were too busy getting Flare out of the water. The soaked, gauzy material of her ceremonial dress clung to her form, not leaving very much to the imagination at that point. Vegeta felt his blood surge into his face and was both grateful, and a little disappointed, when Avery wrapped a towel around the Incendian woman. Flare began to shiver as the other two women helped her down off of the pool's platform and onto the path to the house. She was only able to take a few steps before stumbling forward. Without even thinking Vegeta reached out and caught her, trying his best to keep the towel around her as he lifted her up.

"I can make it inside…" Flare protested weakly, but the hand she pushed against Vegeta's shoulder proved she was as weak as a kitten at the moment.

Porgia gathered up her basket and wrapped the other towel around herself. "I think it would be best if you let him bring you inside." The telepath grinned. "You're still _technically_ a princess, you know. How many chances are you going to get for an actual prince to carry you around?"

"I dislike you _so_ very much right now." Flare's green eyes narrowed at her friend, but she was too tired to argue anymore. She let her head rest on Vegeta's shoulder, her wet curls soaking through his shirt as he followed Porgia and Avery inside. Goku trailed behind as far as the kitchen, where he got distracted by the food Bulma was setting out and sat down to eat.

_'Baka,'_ Vegeta thought to himself as he followed the other two Guardians upstairs. Flare's shivering finally began to fade as his own high Saiyan body temperature warmed her up. They turned down a short hallway with only one, large door at the end of it.

"This is Flare's room," Avery said, opening the door and switching on the light. The bedroom was decorated in a variety of earth tones – coffee browns, brick reds, pale oranges – and all of the furniture was large and comfortable looking. Vegeta waited while the two women cleared some things off of Flare's bed and pulled the blankets back. "Just sit her on the edge there, we'll get her into some dry clothes and get her tucked in." Avery grinned. "Thank you for carrying her up here, Vegeta."

The Saiyan gently lowered Flare onto her bed, she had finally stopped shivering now and he was surprised to see that her curls were almost completely dry again.

"Thanks," Flare smiled weakly up at him, her eyes suddenly became heavy again.

"We've got it from here," Porgia gave him a gentle push out the door. "Could you tell the others we'll be down in a few minutes?"

Vegeta nodded and pulled the heavy door shut behind him.

(*Song lyrics from "Won't Do That No More", sung and recorded by Chelsea Ferrell.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note**: Ok, so it may not be a particularly long update, but it's an update nonetheless! The story line is definitely still finding its way along, so please be patient!

All the Best!

~Dragonwing

**Ch. 5 – Training Days**

The next few days passed rather uneventfully. Flare slept the entire time, with her mother, Avery, and Porgia taking turns checking on her. And the more she slept, the more hostile Vegeta became. Though to everyone else, besides perhaps Bulma and Piccolo, it seemed he was lashing out for no reason. He'd become so frustrated with himself for losing his nerve every time he thought to look in on her himself. And the fact that they were still not allowed to train during those days made it particularly worse, as that would have been his usual outlet for aggression. When it got to the point where he nearly blasted Goku's head off for saying 'good morning', Piccolo finally dragged him off to try and meditate, declaring that he was tired of the Saiyan prince acting like he had no sense. They joined Zero on the front porch, where the white haired young man seemed to spend the majority of his time, and Vegeta finally managed to reach a somewhat calmer state.

Finally, on the afternoon of the third day, Flare made an appearance. Despite having slept for nearly 72 hours the Guardian still looked thoroughly exhausted. She shuffled into the kitchen, dressed in pajama pants and an oversized crocheted sweater that came down to her knees, random curls tumbling down into her face. Flare found Porgia seated at the kitchen table talking with Bulma and cuddled up against the violet-haired woman's shoulder.

"Well good morning, sunshine." Porgia chuckled and pushed a few curls out of Flare's eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Chewed up and spat back out, but alive." Flare mumbled. "Is there coffee?"

"Here, I'll get you some." Bulma crossed to the counter and poured a mug full for her. She took the opportunity to look out the window to see if she could spot her ex-husband, but to no avail. _'Oh, well. He'll see she's up soon enough.'_ Bulma thought, setting the drink on the table in front of Flare.

"Thanks." The tired Guardian mumbled, she warmed her hands on the mug and took a long sip. "Oh, hey!" Flare suddenly sat up and looked at Porgia. "The others know what tomorrow is, don't they?"

"No, I'm sorry dear, I forgot to remind them." Porgia chuckled.

"What's tomorrow?" Goku asked, strolling into the kitchen with Gohan, Goten and Trunks not far behind him. "Good to see you up, Flare!" He grinned.

"Thanks," Flare nodded. "_Tomorrow _is the day that everyone can start training again!"

"All right!" Trunks and Goten high fived excitedly.

"Are you going to be up for training tomorrow?" Gohan asked, taking a seat at the table with the women.

Flare grinned around her coffee mug. "Oh yeah, I'll be ready to go." She stood and stretched. "After all I'm the most rested out of anyone here, I think I'll be in rare form tomorrow."

"Are you going to fight too, Miss Porgia?" Goten asked the telepath.

"I'm afraid not, Goten." Porgia smiled kindly. "Because my mind can sometimes pick up scraps of the future without my control, it would be unfair for me to participate in the tournament. I could accidentally see what my opponent is going to do before it happens. I'm actually going to be refereeing many of the matches instead."

"Oh, ok!" Goten grinned, his black tail waving happily behind him. "That makes sense."

"This is going to be great!" Goku picked up his youngest son and put him on his shoulder. "Do we need to figure out who will get to use the sparring ring first and all of that?"  
"Oh, don't worry." Flare picked up her mug and headed towards the back door. "We have a system all figured out.

OOOOOOOOOO

Bright and early the next morning, all of the Z fighters and the Terrans were gathered behind the yellow house at the practice ring. Porgia was present to go over the rules that had been set for the competition and to referee the practice matches.

"We're going to draw straws to see who will be sparring with whom this morning." Porgia held out a group of black straws of equal length. "The ends are colored, whoever has your matching color will be your sparring partner." They all stepped forward and took their straws. Avery was matched with Goku, Vegeta with Piccolo, and Yamcha found himself facing both of the youngest demi-Saiyans. At that point, Gohan looked and found Flare smiling evilly at him, holding up a straw that matched his.

"Looks like it's you and me." The Incencian woman tapped her straw against Gohan's. "And I've already called dibs on the sparring ring first."

"Lucky me." Gohan grumbled. He'd been hoping to be paired up with his father or Piccolo for the first practice match, not the fire wielding Guardian.

"Now, don't forget." Avery said as the two made their way to opposite corners of the tiled space. "The judges will want to see more skill than show of power, especially if no one can KO their opponent. So don't power your ki up unless you absolutely have to."

"Alright _Super Saiyan_, let's go." Flare taunted, bouncing on her toes like a prizefighter. "Don't tell me you're afraid to hit a girl?" She grinned when Gohan glanced back at those watching with a helpless expression.

Porgia laughed. "Flare you taunt people too much, be nice. You'll be fine, Gohan, don't worry." She raised a hand into the air and brought it down swiftly. "Begin!"

Before Gohan could even slide all the way back into his fighting stance, Flare quickly jumped up into the air and out of his line of sight. He just barely managed to move out of the way as her foot came spinning towards his head from behind, the gust of air caused by the attack whooshing past his ear.

_'Kami, she's fast!'_ Gohan thought before retaliating. However as he lunged forward he found himself punching nothing but air as the redheaded Guardian easily moved out of the way.

The others watched the sparring match with interest, commenting some but mostly trying to keep up with the speed at which the two fighters were moving around the space.

"Hn," Vegeta snorted. "Looks like your eldest son is even more out of practice than we thought, Kakarrot." He couldn't help but be impressed with how easily Flare moved around Gohan, his keen Saiyan hearing picking up the innocent little taunts she occasionally threw his way. _'I think she's actually _toying_ with him,'_ The prince thought, amused. _'She's much stronger than I originally thought, I wonder how much of that is from her and how much is from her family.'_

Gohan and Flare made it through two rounds with Porgia refereeing before the demi-Saiyan finally growled in frustration and flashed himself up into Super Saiyan level one.

The Guardian paused and grinned wickedly. "Well, _finally_." A second later she'd powered up herself, blood red ki that looked suspiciously like fire dancing around her before settling back down. Flare shot forward and the two met in a blast of red and gold as the match escalated. Gohan soon found that he had to elevate his power to level two _just_ to keep up with her. Sweat dripped into his eyes as they both shot up into the air, trading blow for blow. Gohan put a large burst of ki into his next move and zipped around behind her. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides.

"Ready to surrender?" Gohan panted, taking advantage of the momentary pause in the match to breathe deeply.

Flare chuckled darkly. "You're lucky I'm not allowed to set people on fire during this tournament," She growled. "Otherwise, you'd have already let go by now."

Before Gohan could reply, she wrenched her arms up and slammed them back the few inches between her and his gut. He grunted in surprise and let her go, grabbing his stomach as he doubled over in pain. As soon as Flare was free she disappeared and reappeared above his head, he had just enough time to look up at her before a blast of red ki sent him hurtling towards the ground. Gohan landed on the floor of the sparring ring, shattering tiles and sending up a cloud of white dust. When the dust cleared he opened his eyes to find the small Guardian kneeling with one knee on his chest and a fist cocked back to hit him if necessary.

Thankfully, Porgia saved him from wondering if he would have to completely embarrass himself and tap out by shouting, "Time! That's the end of round three!"

Flare looked up quickly at the telepath then back at Gohan before standing and offering him a hand up. "That was good, Gohan." She grinned and used her smaller frame to pull the tall young man to his feet. "You have great technique, but I could tell you were hesitant sometimes about attacking me."

Gohan rubbed his sore stomach. "Guess I didn't need to be, huh?"

Flare smiled a little more softly and patted his back as they walked out of the ring. "Hey, don't let the height fool you." She giggled.

"Yeah, I should have known." Gohan glanced at Vegeta, who smirked at him as he passed by.

"So," Porgia turned to the group. "Who's next? I think the tiles will survive one more match before we'll have to replace some of them."

By the time noon rolled around, each of the paired sparring partners had gotten a chance to use the ring, after several tiles were replaced of course. As they were heading into the house to take a break and have some lunch, Vegeta caught up with Flare, speaking to her for the first time since she'd woken up the day before.

"I noticed your brothers who are participating in the tournament did not join us." He said, matching her stride as they walked towards the Guardians' home.

She looked over at him and smiled wryly. "They're still avoiding me. I'm going to talk to them today though, then they'll most likely pack up and head back to their own homes until the competition starts."

"I see." Vegeta once again found he did not know how to respond to her. He slowed his pace, thinking she would go on without him, but she stopped and turned back towards him. The prince realized that they were now alone outside.

"It's ok, really." Flare said reassuringly. "This is always how it is after the ritual." She crossed her arms and shrugged. "And I feel fine now."

"Well…" He cleared his throat. "I…I am glad that you are doing well then." Vegeta scowled up at the house. "It just seems like such a large burden to place on one person."

"You're right, it is." She said softly. Vegeta looked back to her, startled. "But like I said the other night, there's not much I can do about it right now." Flare shrugged again and turned back towards her home. "Come on, let's go inside."

The Saiyan prince hesitated for a second, unsure if what she'd just said was an order or an invitation.

As she walked along, Flare turned back and smirked at him. "Well, are you coming or not?"

Vegeta snapped out of it and grunted, following the scarlet-haired woman into the big yellow house.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note**: Hello readers and writers! I am SO SORRY it took me so long to update! Holiday rushing combined with changing jobs can take a toll on you, for sure. But I'm back and hopefully on a roll again! It may not be a terribly long update, but it's an update nonetheless!

Also, BIG shout out to** DarkCarnival220** for your encouraging message and patience with me while I've taken care of some things before continuing with The Tournament!

I hope everyone enjoys!

Best,

Dragonwing

**Chapter 6 – Family Ties & Lasting Marks**

The day of the opening ceremony arrived before any of the Earth visitors knew it. They'd quickly developed an effective and seamless routine during the week they'd spent with the three Guardians, especially after the massive group that was Flare's family went back to their own homes to prepare for the tournament. Most of each day was spent in training, with many of their fellow competitors stopping by the yellow house to pay their respects to the Guardians and meet the Earth fighters. Piccolo would often join Zero on the front porch after training for the day or during a break to meditate with the porcelain skinned young man.

"Why aren't you entered in the competition anyway?" The Nemak asked him during a noon break that day.

"I am not a fighter." Zero said simply. "It is not in my nature."

"So instead you spend nearly ten hours a day meditating on the Guardians' front porch?" Piccolo smirked as he stretched and got up from the chair next to Zero's.

"Exactly." The young man's pink lips quirked slightly. "Meditation _is_ in my nature. Therefore it is what I do."

Piccolo shook his head and waved goodbye as he walked into the house. Looking back, he saw that Zero's eyes were already closed again, his breathing slow and steady. Moving through the house, Piccolo noticed Goten and Trunks sitting on the couch with Flare looking through an impossibly thick family album. In the kitchen, he found Avery and Porgia drinking tea and discussing the ceremony that would take place that evening.

_'Everyone else must be outside.'_ He thought to himself before politely declining the tea that Porgia offered. Piccolo had noticed that the violet-eyed Guardian was the only one in the house who ever offered him anything to drink, regardless of the fact that he hardly ever accepted.

"How goes the planning?" He asked them, leaning against the back door frame, arms crossed.

"Pretty well," Avery sighed as she stood up from the kitchen island and stretched. "Everything should go pretty smoothly tonight. It's not going to be anything too complicated." She grinned, showing fangs.

"Is your mother still bringing your dress over for you?" Porgia asked, taking a sip of tea.

"Yep," The taller Guardian nodded. "She should be here any minute now."

"Oh good," Porgia's short purple bangs swung into her face as she straightened up too. "I haven't seen Ellen in weeks."

Just then, there was a knock at the front door. Trunks and Goten fell over each other to try and be the first one to open the door. The three fighters in the kitchen listened as Flare laughed and told the boys to get out of the way.

"Ellen!" Flare said as she opened the door. "How nice to see you!"  
"Hello, Flare dear!" An older woman's voice drifted into the kitchen. "Is my daughter home?"  
"In the kitchen." The redhead said before rejoining the two young demis on the sofa.

"Avery? Darling?" Avery's mother bustled into the room, a large garment bag held out in front of her so as not to drag it on the floor. "Are you in here?"  
"Right here, mother." Avery laughed and took the bag from her.

"Thank you!" Ellen sighed and smoothed out her skirt and blouse. She was a small woman, only coming up to her daughter's chin. Her graying hair showed signs of once being the same chestnut color as Avery's, but other than that there were very few similarities between mother and daughter.

"Hello Ellen." Porgia smiled warmly. "It's been a while since you've been by. May we introduce one of the competitors for the tournament who is staying with us? This is Piccolo, from Earth."

Avery's mother looked up across the kitchen, seeing the Nemak for the first time. Her mouth opened into a small 'O' of shock and her blue eyes widened.

"My God in heaven…" Ellen whispered. Her eyes grew even wider as she stared at an extremely uncomfortable Piccolo. Moving toward him as if she were in a trance, Ellen spoke softly. "I never thought I'd see…but you _are_…this is so…" The older woman finally reached him, the top of her head barely made it to his collar bone. "It's absolutely uncanny!"

"Um, mother?" Avery asked, confusion written all over her face. The Guardian wasn't sure if she should pull her mother away from Piccolo or not. "Are you alright?"

Ellen ignored her daughter, her eyes riveted on the Nemak's face. "Could you please…?" She reached a hand tentatively up towards his head, pointing at his weighted turban. "Could you…take that _off_? I just have to see if it's…the _same_."

Avery decided to step in, "Mother? What are you talking about?" She put her hands on Ellen's shoulders and pulled gently. "You're making Piccolo uncomfortable, mother."

"Oh!" Ellen seemed to finally break out of her daze and blushed furiously. "I'm so sorry! I just…" She looked back and forth between her daughter and Piccolo. The older woman shook herself and adopted a more friendly tone. "Piccolo, I'm terribly sorry but, would you mind please removing your uh…" she pointed again at the turban. "Just for a moment? It would really mean a lot to me."

Piccolo, who had been speechless up to this point, blushed slightly and cleared his throat. "Well, um, certainly." He reached up and removed the turban for the first time since they'd arrived on Terra. His antennae jumped slightly at the sudden change in temperature before settling down into their usual positions.

Ellen grinned like a little girl and clapped her hands together. "Oh, I just _knew _it!" She turned to Avery and wrapped her arms around her daughter's waist excitedly. "It's so unbelievable, but, there he is!"

Avery looked questioningly over the top of her mother's head at Piccolo, who shrugged and held up his hands helplessly. Neither of them had any idea what Ellen was talking about.

Porgia, who had watched the entire exchange with interest, spoke up. "Ellen, perhaps it would be best if you explained in a little more detail exactly _why_ you are so excited to meet Piccolo?"

"Ah!" Avery's mother released her daughter and nodded at Porgia. "Of course, where are my manners?" She began pulling a long chain out from between her sweater and blouse. "Avery, darling, you recognize this don't you?" She held up a large, round, golden locket.

"Yes," Avery answered, still puzzled. "You've always worn that."

"Well," Ellen began working at the clasp holding the locket shut. "What I've never told you, dear, is that this locket holds the only photo that I have of…of your father."  
"Ok…" Avery said slowly. "But what does that have to do with Piccolo?"

The Nemak in question suddenly looked panicked, "Now, wait a minute –"

"Oh, don't worry!" Ellen chuckled. "I know that _you're_ not my Avery's father." She finally succeeded in opening the locket and held it up for both of them to see. "But you just look so much _like_ him!"

Both the Guardian and the Nemak stood in stunned silence as they looked at the photo. Porgia finally grew tired of waiting for them to say something and crossed the room to have a look for herself. Inside the locket, was a faded photo of a young Ellen and…a Nemak! He didn't really look as much like Piccolo as Ellen insisted that he did, but he was definitely still a Nemak just the same. Avery's father stood a good foot taller than her mother; he was muscular but slim and dressed in Earth-style clothing. One arm was wrapped around Ellen's shoulders, the other hand placed on her slightly bulging stomach. He was smiling broadly, his fangs visible even in the old photo.

"Well," Porgia grinned. "This is an interesting development."

"It's also our only _family_ photo." Ellen said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I was around five months pregnant with Avery at the time."

"Why…" Avery's voice caught in her throat and she tried again. "Why didn't you just tell me before now?"

"I'm sorry, dear." Ellen sighed, closing the locket. "I wanted to, but…well, there are no other Nemaks on Terra, so there wouldn't have been anyone to tell you about that side of your family and…I've always held onto the hope that he would return one day." She looked expectantly at Piccolo. "You haven't met another Nemak that looks like him, have you?"

"No, I'm sorry." Piccolo said carefully. "I was born and grew up on Earth. I've only met a few other Nemaks, and none of them were him."

"Oh," Avery's mother sighed again. "Well it was worth asking."

Avery was at a loss for words, all she could do was look back and forth between her mother and Piccolo. Finally the brunette Guardian looked to Porgia, who nodded understandingly, before crossing between her mother and Piccolo and walking out of the back door.

"Avery?" Ellen started after her, but Porgia gently took her arm.

"She needs to be alone for a little while, Ellen." The telepath said softly. "This was a lot of information to have given to her after years of not knowing."

The woman nodded, looked wistfully up at Piccolo one more time, and went to sit in the living room with the children and Flare.

"Are _you_ alright?" Porgia asked softly after Ellen left the room.

"Me?" He looked up at her, startled. "Of course, I'm fine."

"Ok," Her mouth twisted into a wry smile. "That was a lot of information for you to take in as well, you know. I just wanted to check on you."

Piccolo nodded, "Thanks."

OOOOOOOOOO

That evening found all of the Earth visitors waiting with Zero outside the front of the house. They were all ready to go to the tournament's opening ceremony and were waiting for the three Guardians to join them.

"We need to leave soon, don't we?" Bulma asked, smoothing a wrinkle out of her red cocktail dress.

Zero nodded, "Yes, the Guardians should be ready soon. Since they are presiding over the opening ceremony, they must be dressed a little more formally than everyone else."

Yamcha tried unsuccessfully to loosen the tie Bulma had talked him into wearing. "Ugh, so how long will this thing last?"

"Oh, there will be a few opening words and some refreshments. Then the line up of the first day's matches will be announced, after that people are free to come and go as they please." Zero chuckled. The pale young man looked back through the front door. "Here comes Porgia now."

The violet eyed Guardian stepped out onto the porch where the others were waiting, dressed in a lavender sari. The gown was trimmed and embroidered with cream colored thread, with tiny pearls sewn into the collar. Silver slippers peaked out from beneath the dress as she walked amongst the group. She smiled, "Don't you all look nice!"

"Thanks!" Goku grinned. "Are Avery and Flare ready too?"

"Yes, they should be right out." Porgia stepped down into the yard. "Now, do we know who all is riding in which car?"

"Yep, we've got that all worked out." Bulma nodded.

Goten popped himself up onto his father's shoulder, "Why are we riding in cars instead of flying?"

"Because we wouldn't want you to ruin your nice clothes," Avery chuckled from the doorway. "What if you flew right into a swarm of bugs?"

"Ewww!" Goten laughed and launched himself at Avery.

Goku caught his son with his tail and set him on the floor. The Saiyan laughed. "And we wouldn't want to ruin Avery's nice clothes by you climbing all over her."

The tall Guardian grinned. She had traded her usual loose, long sleeved tunic and pants for a fitted green evening gown brought by her mother, with a flowing skirt and sleeves that only came down to her elbows. By now word had spread of Avery's Nemak father, and it was the first time any of the visitors could see that her forearms bore strips of ribbed flesh similar to Piccolo's, except that hers were a light shade of green rather than pink. Her long, brown hair was smoothed back into a bun, and she'd even put on bright gold earrings in the shape of leaves.

"You look pretty!" Trunks beamed up at her. Vegeta snorted and crossed his arms, while Bulma giggled at their son's attempts at flirtation.

"What about me, Trunks?" Flare laughed, stepping out onto the porch from behind the taller woman. The lavender haired boy's eyes grew wide and he stammered, "I…uh…you…you look…"

"_Really_ pretty!" Goten finished for him, hooking his tail through his friend's encouragingly.

Vegeta looked up to see what had caused his normally talkative son's hesitation. The Saiyan prince found himself unable to look away from the Incendian woman for the second time that week, his mouth hanging slightly open.

Flare was wrapped in a black silk sheath that trailed slightly behind her as she walked out of the house. She had ruby drops in her ears and her red curls looked as if they were barely being restrained by the pins holding them up. While the gown's neckline was high enough that it brushed against her collar bones, when she turned to shut the door to the house they could see that the back of the dress plunged all the way down to her lower back. Vegeta blinked out of his trance when he noticed that she had a strange symbol imprinted on the skin between her shoulder blades. After looking at it a little longer, he slowly realized that it was actually _branded_ into her skin.

"Wow, Flare!" Bulma sidled up to the smaller woman, eyeing the brand with interest. "You look amazing! But, _what_ is this thing for?" She reached out and attempted to touch the mark, but Flare turned around before she could.

"The brand?" The Guardian asked, smiling ruefully. "It's sort of an Incendian rite of passage, for lack of a better explanation. All Incendian women get them…_would_ get them…when we reached puberty."

"Did it hurt?" Trunks hovered up behind her so he could get a better look.

"A little bit." Flare said softly, turning her head back to look at the child.

"A _little_?" Porgia rolled her eyes. "Considering how hot that thing had to be to actually make an _imprint_ in your skin, let alone create a _scar_, I'd say it hurt more than a little."

"Whoa," Goten hovered up next to Trunks and reached out a small hand towards Flare's back.

"_Brats!_" Vegeta hissed. "Don't even think about it." The two small demis dropped instantly to the porch, looking sheepish.

Flare grinned down at them, "It's alright boys, don't worry." She turned back towards the group. "Is everyone ready to go?"

"Yep!" Goku beamed and scooped up his youngest son with his tail. "Let's go!"

OOOOOOOOOO

The opening ceremony went smoothly, or as smoothly as it could go considering that the room was full of some of the universe's most powerful fighters, each sizing up their competition. Each of the Guardians said a few words, thanked everyone who had worked to put the tournament together, and encouraged those gathered to mingle and meet their fellow entrants. They indicated the digital board that would show the line-up for the beginning of the competition and left everyone free to eat, talk, and explore the large hall where the ceremony was being held.

It took a while for the Guardians to make their way back to their houseguests, as they kept getting stopped by various contestants, supporters, and friends. Avery gratefully accepted a drink that Bulma had grabbed for her once she reached the blue-haired woman.

"I hate public speaking," Avery grimaced, making Bulma giggle. "But it comes with the territory I suppose."

"True." Bulma laughed again. Looking around at the mammoth gathering of fighters, she whistled appreciatively. "Well you've done a great job putting all of this together."

"Thanks!" Porgia joined the other two women and was shortly followed by Vegeta and Goku.

"There are so many warriors here!" Goku said excitedly. "I have such a good feeling about this!"  
"Ever the optimist, 'eh Kakarott?" Vegeta smirked, causing the taller Saiyan to blush and scratch his scar.

"Where's Flare?" Bulma asked, sneaking a sly look at Vegeta to gage his reaction. She wasn't disappointed, her ex-husband perked up immediately at the mention of the Incendian Guardian.

Porgia sighed and glanced. "She got trapped somewhere near the windows that open out over the courtyard, I think." She laughed. "Flare hates things like this more than any of us, she probably needs to be rescued."  
"There's an idea!" Bulma laid a hand on Goku's arm. "Goku, honey, why don't you go find Flare and extract her from whoever's keeping her?"

Goku looked surprised, but stepped forward anyway. "Uh, sure, Bulma! Where…"

"Kakarott." Vegeta growled and stepped in front of the taller man. "You have no subtlety with this kind of thing, finding her throwing her over your shoulder will not do at a function like this." He glared up at him. "_I_ will go find her." The prince melted into the crowd, leaving a perplexed looking Goku and three women exchanging a knowing look between them.

"That worked out better than I thought it would." Bulma mused.

"Huh?" Goku turned back to her. "I think I've missed something."

"It's ok," Avery laughed. "I'm sure we'll all see it pretty soon."

Vegeta stalked silently through the crowd, keeping an eye out for Flare and sizing up some of the other fighters at the same time. Finally, he caught sight of her near where Porgia had said she'd be. The flame-haired Guardian was attempting to excuse herself from the company of a tall, wiry fighter who was clearly paying more attention to the woman's figure than to what she was saying. The Saiyan prince felt a growl rising in his throat and only just managed to quell it as he made his way over to them. His sharp hearing caught snatches of conversation over the general buzz of the room.

"I _really _should be joining the other Guardians now…" Flare said tightly. She was obviously trying to be diplomatic, but displeasure at being detained was clearly written on her face.

"I'm sure they can do without you for just a _little_ while," The tall man simpered, angling himself down closer to her.

She snorted and gave up on diplomacy. "I think not…"

Vegeta saw one foot slide back into a defensive stance just as he reached them. "I would believe her if I were you," He said, eyeing at the man with the look of disdain he'd cultivated at an early age. "I've seen her set people on fire for less." Flare looked at him, surprise briefly registering in her eyes before she turned back to the now not so confident fighter.

"You see?" Her smirk mirrored Vegeta's. "They had to send someone to fetch me. I'm sure you understand if I excuse myself now."

"Right." The tall competitor muttered, shooting Vegeta a dark look before moving into the crowd.

"Thanks." Flare sighed, easing out of the slight defensive stance. "I was losing patience with that guy."

"I can imagine." Vegeta sneered at the fighter's retreating back. He glanced sideways at her. "The other two Guardians are across the room, if you'd like to join them."

"Actually," She placed a hand on the side of her neck and stretched it. "I think I need to get some fresh air for a minute, want to walk outside?" Flare laughed softly at his stunned expression. "It's a 'yes' or 'no' question, Vegeta. Do you want to walk outside for a little while?"

He recovered his composure and nodded. "Yes."

Flare nodded back, leading the way out of a set of glass French doors and out into the courtyard behind the ceremony hall. The night air was cool and fragrant from the various plants that grew along either side of the courtyard path. Terra's two moons shone brightly, now halfway through their phases, and Vegeta once again marveled at being able to see them without the threat of transforming. They walked in silence for several minutes before Flare finally stopped and took a deep breath.

"This is better," She grinned, stretching her hands up and causing several of the vertebrae in her spine to audibly **pop**. Vegeta's eyes roamed over the large amount of skin exposed by the back of Flare's dress before coming back to rest once again on the Incendian brand in her skin. Without even thinking, he reached out just like his and Kakarott's sons had done, stopping just short of brushing his fingertips against the scarred skin.

"It's ok, you know." Flare said matter-of-factly. He froze, she hadn't even looked back at him, how did she know? "I can easily feel changes in the temperature close to my skin." She explained as if she'd read his mind.

Releasing a breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding, Vegeta just barely traced the symbol with one fingertip. Gooseflesh rose quickly along the back of Flare's exposed neck, but disappeared just as fast. The scar tissue was thick but smooth, and slightly raised off of the surface of her back. The symbol began just below the connection of her cervical and thoracic vertebrae, stretched wide enough to brush the inner edges of her shoulder blades and was long enough to reach just below their lowest points. After tracing the whole thing lightly, he increased his pressure and began to go over it again. He was mildly surprised to feel how solid the tissue was beneath the scar tissue, although he had _more _than enough scars to know that this was a common occurrence. The branding iron must have been _inconceivably_ hot to leave this kind of mark.

"What does it mean?" Vegeta asked quietly, still tracing the looping lines of the symbol.

"It means…" Flare considered her answer. "It means that I'm _alive_…that I made it, I suppose. There's more to it but…it's hard to explain." She waited patiently for him to trace the brand one more time before he finally dropped his hand down by his side. Flare turned around and regarded him thoughtfully.

"I thought about you for a moment while they were doing it." She said and waited for a response.

"You…did?" He wasn't sure how to take that.

"Just briefly, but, yes." Flare shrugged. "Nothing I've ever experienced before or after hurt as much as getting the brand did. And while it was happening I suddenly wondered if you had to go through anything like that. Was there something that you did, not because you particularly wanted to, but because you just knew you _had _to? To prove something to everyone around you?" She sighed and looked up at the moons, her hands clasped behind her back. The black silk of her dress rustled as she moved before settling down into its folds. "After that I passed out," The Guardian chuckled softly. "Don't remember much else except waking up after it was over…and then no one really mentioned it again. At least not directly. It made me wonder what I really had to get the brand for, especially since I was…I _am_ the last one." She sighed heavily and shook her head slightly as if wiping away her thoughts. "Well, I guess we should get back, yeah?" Flare smiled and turned back towards the hall.

Again, without really thinking, Vegeta reached out and grabbed her wrist. She stopped and turned back, looking at him curiously.

"I…" He had no idea what he'd meant to say, he just knew he couldn't let her walk off again without saying _something_. "I did have to…" Vegeta cleared his throat. "Before…before I came to Earth I…I did horrible things." He still had a hold of her wrist, his thumb unconsciously began sweeping across her palm. "At first it was because I knew I _had_ to, there wasn't an option. But then…I think there was a period of time where I…_enjoyed_ it. I've killed so many people…I've destroyed worlds. And the _bastard _that I did all of those things for…" The prince felt like his tongue had turned to lead. "He's the one who…who took your world from _you_. And I…know I can't undo that, I just wish…" He trailed off and took a deep breath. "I wouldn't blame you if you…hated me for what I've done. I could have resisted long before I did but…" Vegeta's rambling was stopped when Flare placed her free hand gently over his mouth.

"Stop talking for a second." She commanded. He nodded, standing eye-to-eye with her. Flare shook her head ruefully and smirked at him. "I'm not going to hate you because of things you did in your past, Vegeta. _You_ weren't the one who destroyed Incendia. If you remember, we were both children at the time." She took her palm off of his mouth, he gripped her other hand as if it were an anchor but did not interrupt her. "I've done plenty of things that I regret, and there are plenty of things that I regret never having done. But I don't let that keep me from living my life right now, and neither should you. You can't assume the burden for the atrocious things that someone else has done, you'll go crazy that way." Flare sighed, her green eyes reading his face. She must have seen whatever she was looking for, because the next thing Vegeta knew, Flare placed a warm hand on his face and leaned her forehead against his.

"It's ok to let go, Vegeta." She said. He could feel her breath ghost over his lips and his own breathing hitched in his chest. "You don't have to keep all of this bottled up on your own."

Vegeta smirked, his nose brushed hers. "I could say the same thing to you." He felt her arched eyebrow against his face as she chuckled.

"Well, then we both have something to work on." She tilted her face forward and brought their lips together. Vegeta's free hand instantly went up into her hair, upsetting the many pins holding it up, while his other hand finally released he wrist and wrapped around her waist to pull her close. He couldn't get over how perfectly she fit against him, how soft her lips were and how, incredibly, the heat from her Incendian skin seemed to soak into his own.

When they finally broke apart, he pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead and buried his nose into her red girls. Flare laughed and kissed him on the cheek. She then took his hand and the pair began walking back towards the ceremony hall. There were a lot of things to discuss still, a lot of details that they would have to figure out, and most likely a lot of explanations to give at some point. But for that night at least, walking back alone through the courtyard, they weren't worried about any of that. They figured that it was ok to let go.

TBC

**Author's Note:** Ok, so it was a little bit more fluffy than I originally intended, a bit OOC for Vegeta, and it's a bit of a cliffhanger, but I really enjoyed writing it! And hopefully now I can get back on a regular updating schedule! Thanks everyone!


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** Here we are everyone! I apologize for the updates on this story not being very...scheduled, for lack of a better word. I have learned that I need to focus on one story at a time versus trying to write multiple ones at a time, ha! Anyway, thank you all for being patient, and I hope you enjoy!

Best,

~Dragonwing

**Ch. 7 – The Tournament Begins **

The Guardian Porgia stood on the balcony overlooking the garden paths that stretched out behind the reception hall, feeling the cool night breeze blow across her face. The opening ceremony had gone rather well, people were excited about the start of the tournament the following day, and now it seemed that Vegeta and Flare had acknowledged their feelings for one another. Her telepathic perception had picked up on the change in both of the warriors' moods before they'd even made it back to the party. They had walked back into the reception hall hand-in-hand, startling many of the other Earth visitors, but merely confirming the suspicions of Bulma and the other two Guardians. Porgia had congratulated them both before moving out of the way to let the others share their reactions to the sudden pairing.

Having retreated into the solitude of the night, she allowed herself to let her mind drift, thinking fondly of how much she had been hoping for Flare to find happiness like this. She had often seen flashes of the Saiyan Prince in Flare's memories, particularly when the redhead was feeling anxious or overwhelmed, and now he had returned to her life. Porgia leaned against the balcony railing, feeling the cold silk material of her sari shift and reform against the marble. She stayed that way for several long, uninterrupted minutes before a rustle of cloth alerted her to the presence of someone else beside her.

"Hello, Piccolo." Porgia said without opening her eyes.

"Did you read my mind?" The Nemak asked, amused.

"No," She smiled and shook her head. "I could just feel you coming."

"I see." He turned and leaned his back against the railing next to her. After sitting in silence for a while, Piccolo inclined his head down towards her and spoke again. "So I take it you weren't surprised by Vegeta and Flare's new…relationship?"

"Nope," Porgia finally opened her eyes and turned her violet gaze up at him. "I saw it coming a long time ago."

"Thought so," The Nemak chuckled and shook his head. "I've been around the Saiyans long enough that I really shouldn't be surprised by anything they do anymore but…"

"But you continue to be in a constant state of shock?" She giggled, turning so that she was facing the same direction he was.

"Something like that." Piccolo crossed his arms, gazing through the windows at the opening reception that was finally beginning to break up.

They stood in companionable silence for a while longer, watching the people mill about as the crowd began to disperse. "Are you looking forward to the start of tournament?" Porgia asked suddenly.

He seemed to consider his answer for a moment. "Of course…it's a chance to compete against the best fighters in the universe, is it not? Why do you ask?"

"No reason," She shrugged and straightened up off of the railing. Piccolo watched out of the corner of his eye as she adjusted her gown, the silk material rippled beneath her fingers like water. "Ready to get the last of this dreaded event over with?" Her violet eyes shone with laughter, though she tried to keep her voice even.

Piccolo nodded, chuckling to himself as he followed the telepathic Guardian back into the reception hall.

OOOOOOOOOO

The following morning found all of the residents of the yellow Guardian house up at dawn to prepare for the first day of the tournament. As it turned out, Goku and Piccolo were the only ones out of their group who even had a match that day. So many fighters had shown up for the competition that the first round of matches had to be split between two different days of fighting.

"You're going to win for sure, dad!" Goten crowed, popping up onto the edge of the kitchen island to grab a piece of bacon that Avery had just prepared.

"Yeah, and it'll be fun to watch all of the other matches too!" Trunks agreed as his friend tossed him down a slice of bacon as well.

"Thanks, guys!" Goku grinned around his own massive amount breakfast.

"Karkarott, could you manage to _not_ talk with food in your mouth for once?" Vegeta scoffed as he strode into the room. The Saiyan prince accepted the cup of coffee Flare handed him and casually wrapped an arm around her waist. He had come to the conclusion the night before that if he was going to enter into whatever type of relationship he and the Incendian woman had, he might as well go all in regardless of what the others thought.

Porgia smiled and shook her head before heading out of the kitchen with two mugs of tea in hand. She wove her way through the people congregated in the living room and used her mental powers to push the front door open. Piccolo and Zero were in their customary seats on the front porch, getting in one last bit of mediation before the tournament started. Porgia placed one of the mugs on the porch railing in front of Zero, and then moved over to the chair Piccolo occupied, nudging the Namek on the shoulder with the warm cup. He cracked an eye open and looked up the short distance that separated them.

"Yes?" Piccolo rumbled, his mind still making its way back from his meditative state.

"Green tea." She said simply and waited for him to take the mug out of her hands.

He raised an eye ridge at her but said nothing as he wrapped one long-fingered hand around the cup and took it gently from her. Porgia nodded once and leaned on the porch railing between Piccolo and Zero's chairs. The rising sun glinted off of her violet hair, giving her an amethyst toned halo. Piccolo smelled the steaming liquid and took a sip, it was definitely green tea but there was some other underlying flavor that he couldn't identify.

"Thank you," He said after draining half of the mug, noting the pleasant sensation of hot tea moving down his throat and into his stomach. The tea seemed to settle there and radiate out a feeling of contentment and increased energy. "What else was in it?"

"You could taste that?" Porgia asked, her purple eyes showing the slightest hint of surprise. "I use so little that most people don't even notice it." She grinned. "Lilac."

"Lilac?" Piccolo glanced down into the murky green liquid before downing the rest of it. That satisfying feeling in his stomach intensified slightly before settling into something a little less noticeable.

"It wards off bad energy." The telepath explained. She used a tiny ball of ki to re-warm the mug that Zero had yet to touch before turning back to Piccolo.

"Did you offer Goku some of this?" He smirked.

She shrugged. "I did, but he said that he doesn't usually prefer green tea." The guardian chuckled and hopped off of the railing before taking the empty mug from him. "I'm sure he'll be fine though, that man has optimism in spades." Porgia moved behind Zero's chair and gently ruffled the meditating young man's hair. "Time to wake up now, darling. Drink your tea."

Zero opened his dark grey eyes and tilted his head back to look at her. "Yes, mother." He grinned up at her as she lightly flicked the back of his head before going back inside the house. The pale young man smiled wryly at the Namek beside him before picking up his own cup of tea and taking a large sip. "She makes me drink this nearly every day." He remarked casually.

Piccolo didn't answer right away. The way Zero had responded to Porgia's request reminded him of something they'd been told on their first day on Terra. "Did Porgia really raise you?" He asked cautiously.

"Yes, she did." Zero nodded, the fully risen sun glinted off of the small horn on his forehead. "Porgia is the closest person I've had to a parent."

"She doesn't seem like she's old enough to have _raised_ another person," Piccolo mused, his brow knit in confusion. "Unless she simply doesn't age quickly, like Flare or the Saiyans."

"It's partially that," Zero nodded in agreement. "The telepaths live for a very long time, although I'd venture to say she's far older than you might guess. She's most certainly older than anyone in your group from Earth."

"What?" The Namek's head snapped up. "That seems unlikely. I myself am over fifty Earth years old."

"Oh, she is much older than that." Zero grinned again. "But don't tell her I mentioned that, she doesn't like for people to feel uncomfortable about her age."

Piccolo was saved from having to respond any further by Goku bounding out onto the porch. "We're getting ready to leave!" The tall Saiyan was practically vibrating from all of the excitement over the tournament starting. "Are you ready, Piccolo?"

The Namek stood smoothly and nodded at the other warrior. "Of course."

OOOOOOOOOO

A massive stadium had been built in honor of the Terra's first Intergalactic Tournament. It was large enough to accommodate three different matches at one time, with nearly 100,000 seats available for onlookers and fighters who currently didn't have a match. Two huge digital boards hung at each end of the stadium to show how fighters were moving up through each round. There was also a holding area for competitors waiting for their turn, with a miniature version of the score board posted so that everyone could keep up with how things were progressing.

When the Earth visitors entered the stadium with the three Guardians, the roar from the crowd gathered was almost deafening. The Earth warriors joined the other competitors in the center ring while the Guardians moved up to a raised platform to welcome everyone to the opening day of the tournament. Each of the three women had something to say: Flare did the initial welcome to both the natives of Terra and the intergalactic visitors, Avery went over the methods that would be used to judge the matches and move fighters up through the rounds, and Porgia highlighted the rules of the competition as well as what actions could be considered grounds for disqualification. After that was finished, they declared the tournament officially begun. The crowd cheered again as the fighters who would be competing that first day moved into position, while the others either found seats in the stadium or stood along the sidelines to observe.

Goku was scheduled to face his first opponent in the center ring at 10:30am, so he had a little time to kill before his match, and Piccolo wasn't fighting until 4:00pm. They all stood along the sidelines of the center ring, watching the first few matches with interest. There was one fighter in particular, a native Terran named Enzo, who showed particular skill and strength during his first fight. He was fairly tall and well muscled, with an olive complexion and shoulder-length blonde hair. Enzo was in one of the first matches of the day, and made quick work of his opponent, ending the bout before the allotted three rounds had even happened. As he stepped down out of the tiled ring, the blonde fighter strode right over to where Flare was standing with Vegeta and the other Earth visitors.

"Flare!" Enzo grinned down at the lithe woman. He made a move as if to hug her, but one well placed look from Vegeta made him pause. Instead he opted for clapping her on the shoulder. "It's good to see you. I wanted to say hello to you and the other Guardians at the opening ceremony last night, but you were pretty hard to track down." The blonde man glanced around. "Where are Avery and Porgia anyway?"

Flare shrugged. "Avery is working with some of the younger fighters nearby, and Porgia is judging over at ring one." She grinned up at him and then at the still glowering Saiyan prince beside her. "I honestly wasn't sure if you'd be back in time for the tournament. Either way, I'd like to introduce you to the fighters representing planet Earth. This is Vegeta, and…" Flare introduced everyone in the group except for Goten and Trunks, who were off training with Avery. All of the fighters greeted Enzo politely enough, while Bulma simply stared at how handsome the Terran was.

"Nice to meet all of you." Enzo nodded.

"You too," Goku shook the younger man's hand. "I have to say, you fight really well. Did you train only here on Terra?"

"Yes," He nodded, hooking his thumbs into his pockets. "I also spent a little time off planet, but most of my training was done not far from here."

"Well, if we don't get put up against each other in the tournament, we'll have to spar together sometime before we leave." Goku grinned, relishing the idea of picking up on a new fighting style.

"Sounds good," Enzo smiled back before turning to Flare again. "So I guess I'll be seeing you around? And, uh…" He lowered his voice slightly. "Please tell Porgia I said hello, would you?"

"Sure," Flare nodded and casually slipped her arm through Vegeta's to stop the growl that had risen in his throat when the blonde fighter had leaned in towards her. "Good luck, Enzo."

The Terran fighter bid goodbye to everyone and disappeared into the crowd. As soon as he was out of sight, Flare sighed and shook her head.

"Something wrong?" Vegeta asked tightly, he hadn't liked the familiarity the other man had tried to show with her.

"No, not really." She pushed a handful of curls out of her face. "I was kind of hoping he wouldn't show up for the tournament though."  
"Why is that?" Goku asked, clearly puzzled. "He seemed alright."

"Oh, he's not a bad person or anything." Flare quickly clarified. "It's just that, well, he kind of has a…_thing_ for Porgia, and it makes her a little uncomfortable."

"Really?" Bulma had finally broken out of her trance. "I can't imagine why, he's gorgeous!"

"Hey!" Yamcha's face turned an odd shade of purple to match his indignation.

"Oh, you know I don't mean anything by that!" The blue-haired woman scoffed and swatted him away. "I just meant that_ I_ certainly wouldn't mind if a handsome young man had a crush on me, it's flattering."

"Yes, well, Porgia doesn't really look at it that way. Plus there have been a couple of times before where Enzo has been a little…pushy. Porgia practically kicked him off of our property the last time." Flare shrugged again and let it drop at that.

Piccolo raised an eye ridge at the direction the conversation had gone, but said nothing. It seemed unlikely to him that anyone could misinterpret anything the telepathic Guardian said or did, she was very straightforward. '_The boy must be truly dense._' The Namek thought absently.

OOOOOOOOOO

Goku's first match came up soon enough, and was over barely after it had even started. Porgia, who had switched over to the middle ring so she could judge the fight, had to actually project the memory of the match into the other referees' heads so that they could rightly determine the correct sequence of events. Goku was the obvious winner, however the rules dictated that if a fighter moved faster than the referees could clearly see, then a review had to be conducted. Afterwards he was congratulated by the rest of the Earth fighters and the Guardians, and his name moved up on the board to the next round.

The rest of the day was spent watching the matches, talking with other fighters in the competition, and discussing the techniques that they were witnessing, both new and familiar. Soon enough it was time for Piccolo's first fight. His opponent made it through one round with the Namek, but suddenly forfeited after the second round had scarcely begun. They shook hands and the referees declared Piccolo the winner. Gohan clapped his former mentor on the back while Goten and Trunks zoomed excitedly around his head until Piccolo finally snapped at them to quit wasting ki and get away from him. There were only a handful of other matches scheduled after Piccolo's, and it didn't seem like very long at all before the Guardians were announcing the end of the first day of the tournament and biding everyone goodnight.

That evening was very low key compared to how most of the week had been leading up to the start of the start of the competition. In fact, after a rather light dinner, most of the current residents of the yellow house went to bed very early. The excitement from the day coupled with the knowledge that every day for the next two weeks was going to be very similar, gave them plenty of reason to get as much rest as possible.

After saying goodnight to Gohan and the others, Piccolo ventured out onto the front porch, hoping to have one more mediation session with Zero before the ethereal young man went home for the evening. However, as he came to the threshold of the front door, the Namek heard low voices talking and stopped.

"It would seem that everything went well today, didn't it?" Zero asked softly, his chair slowly rocking back and forth.

"Yes," Porgia agreed. She was sitting in the chair next to him, her knees drawn up to her chest. "I believe it went very well, all things considered."

They were silent for a moment before Zero spoke again. "I also heard that Enzo has returned to participate in the tournament. And that he wishes to speak with you."

"Hmm…" She closed her eyes and leaned back against the rocker. "Flare told me."

"Will you talk to him?" Zero's voice remained calm and neutral.

Porgia considered this for a moment. "If I must, I suppose so. But I will not tolerate even a little bit of the behavior he showed the last time he was on Terra. It's simply unacceptable."

"Because he is so young or because you are not interested in him?" Her adopted son asked innocently.

"Both, of course!" She admonished. "Though mostly the latter, I should say."

"I see." He sighed contentedly and the two sat for a few more minutes in silence. Then he spoke again, his whispery voice carrying to where Piccolo still stood hidden in the doorway. "And will you ever acknowledge anyone who has feelings for you?"

"I…" Porgia cut herself off and sighed. "I am getting too old for this."

Zero chuckled and took her hand in his as they continued to rock back and forth. "And yet you don't look a day older than twenty-five, mother dear."

Her laughter rang out and the Guardian quickly brought it down to a soft chuckle. "Zero, darling? Do me a favor, and shut up."


End file.
